On the evening of August 5, 2023, a tragic shooting shattered the community in the 1600 block of Good Hope Road in Southeast, Washington, D.C., claiming the life of 35-year-old Bernard Hodges. A resident of Northeast, D.C., Hodges was a married father of four who was working three jobs to support his family, including as a stationary engineer at MGM National Harbor. He was remembered by his family as a man deeply committed to education and frustrated by the violence in his community.
The incident unfolded at approximately 8:22 p.m., when officers responded to reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, they discovered a chaotic scene with five individuals having been shot. Hodges, along with two other victims, 34-year-old Reginald Gilbert and 27-year-old Tymea Cook, succumbed to their injuries. Hodges was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Two other adult males were also wounded in the mass shooting.
In the wake of the shooting, the Metropolitan Police Department launched an intensive investigation. Detectives from the Homicide Branch sought the public's help in identifying suspects and a vehicle captured on surveillance cameras. A significant breakthrough in the case came on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, when members of the Violent Crime Suppression Division's Robbery Suppression Unit arrested 28-year-old Rahsaan Smith of Southeast, D.C. Smith was subsequently charged with three counts of First-Degree Murder While Armed in connection with the deaths of Hodges, Gilbert, and Cook. The police had offered a substantial reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.
