Do you know who murdered David Watkins? In a rooming house in Northeast Washington, a dispute between housemates turned deadly on the afternoon of February 18, 2016, ending the life of 45-year-old David Watkins. That day, David Bright, a 31-year-old man also residing in the home on the 500 block of 58th Street NE, entered the house where Watkins and another housemate, Clifton Francis, were watching television in the living room.
Bright proceeded upstairs to his bedroom before running back down the stairs, armed with a gun.
He first opened fire on Francis at close range, killing him. As Watkins reacted with shouts of disbelief, Bright turned the weapon on him, shooting him in the chest. Despite his injuries, Watkins managed to crawl to his bedroom and urged another housemate to call the police. Bright then confronted the remaining housemate in the kitchen, pointing the gun at his face before the housemate was able to escape into a bedroom and close the door. Bright then fled the scene.
The following day, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force apprehended Bright as he was leaving a barbershop in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, where he had just shaved off his dreadlocks. A search of the vehicle he was driving, a Mitsubishi Galant, uncovered the murder weapon—a Glock 22. 40 caliber firearm—along with 91 rounds of ammunition and three firearm magazines. Bright was taken into custody and remained there since his arrest. In February 2018, he pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder while armed and was subsequently sentenced to 33 years in prison.
