In the courtyards of the Brookland Manor apartment complex in Northeast Washington, D.C., 16-year-old Malik Spears, a male, was known for his unique sense of style. On the night of Monday, June 3, 2013, at approximately 11:18 pm, the vibrant life of the young man was cut short. He was in a large group of people in a courtyard in the 1200 block of Brentwood Road, NE when shots were fired.
Struck by the gunfire, Spears staggered into one of the apartment buildings and collapsed on a stairwell. He was rushed to a local hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal. He died the following afternoon, on Tuesday, June 4, 2013.
At the time of his death, he was a ninth-grade student at Options Public Charter School.
The Metropolitan Police Department launched a homicide investigation into the shooting. Detectives were trying to determine a motive and were uncertain whether Spears was the intended target. In the wake of the shooting, friends and family remembered him as a lovable and comedic teenager who was not known to be a troublemaker. Information regarding any arrests or the identification of any suspects in the death of Malik Spears has not been made publicly available.
