Do you know who murdered Tamarki Oates? Tamarki Oates, a Black male, was shot in the early morning hours in the rear of 2647 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE in Southeast Washington, D.C., around 12:34 a.m. The incident unfolded out of public view behind the address, and responding officers found Oates mortally wounded. Official notices published by the Metropolitan Police Department present a slight discrepancy about the calendar date tied to that 12:34 a.m.
time: the case listing is headed Wednesday, May 17, 2006, while the narrative line describes the killing as occurring “On Thursday, May 18, 2006,” at approximately 12:34 a.m.—a timestamp that would indeed fall just after midnight on a Thursday. What is consistent across those materials is the precise location and the minute-by-minute timing of the shooting.
Detectives from the department’s Violent Crimes Branch opened the investigation and issued a plea for information to the public. Authorities announced that the District offers a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible, and they listed direct points of contact for tips, including the Synchronized Operations Command Center. Subsequent public postings and cold-case summaries have continued to echo the same core details—time, place, and the fatal nature of the gunshot wound—and they have not introduced any named suspects.
Based on the official record available, no arrests have been announced in connection with Oates’s killing, and investigators have not publicly identified a suspect or suspects. Police materials continue to seek community assistance, underscoring the unresolved status of the case while reaffirming the reward and the request for leads that could move the investigation forward.
