In the pre-dawn hours of a December weekend in Washington, D.C., the life of 69-year-old Nathaniel Beasley Jr., a Black male, was tragically cut short. On Saturday, December 22, 2012, at approximately 1:55 a.m., Beasley and another man, Raymond Harris, were sitting in a vehicle in the 1100 block of Bladensburg Road, Northeast, when they were both shot.
Emergency services responded to the scene of the double shooting. Harris was pronounced dead at the location.
Beasley, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, Nathaniel Beasley Jr. succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on the morning of Sunday, December 23, 2012.
The Metropolitan Police Department launched a homicide investigation into the double slaying. In the years following the shooting, the case of Nathaniel Beasley Jr. and Raymond Harris has remained open. Authorities have not publicly identified any suspects in the shooting, and no arrests have been announced in connection with their deaths. The case is now considered an unsolved homicide, leaving a lingering sense of loss and unanswered questions for the families and the community.
