On a winter evening in Washington, D.C., Mike Gill, a 56-year-old man, drove his Jeep to pick up his wife from her law office. He pulled onto K Street in Northwest to wait, making a call to let her know he was there. In what should have been a routine moment on Monday, January 29, 2024, his life took a violent and tragic turn. A stranger, without warning, got into the vehicle with him and shot him. The assailant then fled, leaving Gill critically wounded.
His wife came downstairs to find him on the sidewalk, a foot still inside his car. He was rushed to a local hospital to fight for his life.
The man who shot Gill, identified as 28-year-old Artell Cunningham, did not stop there. His attack on Gill was the beginning of an hours-long, violent crime spree that spread from the District into Maryland. After shooting Gill, Cunningham attempted another carjacking before successfully stealing a vehicle from Alberto Vasquez Jr., whom he shot and killed. The rampage continued with more carjackings and even involved firing shots at two different police vehicles. The wave of terror and violence stretched through the night and into the early hours of the next morning.
For several days, Mike Gill remained in critical condition, but the injuries he sustained were too severe. He succumbed to his wounds and passed away on Saturday, February 3, 2024. His death was the second fatality resulting from the violent spree. The suspect, Artell Cunningham, was confronted by New Carrollton police officers in Lanham, Maryland, in the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday, January 30. During the confrontation, Cunningham was shot and killed by the officers, bringing the destructive rampage to an end. Authorities later indicated they believed the suspect may have been suffering from a mental health crisis. No arrests could be made as the sole suspect was deceased.
