On the evening of Thursday, April 27, 2023, the life of 60-year-old Anthony Eric Petty came to a violent end in the 2600 block of 12th Place, Southeast, in Washington, D.C. Around 9:42 p.m., Seventh District officers responded to a call about a person down and discovered Petty with a fatal gunshot wound. Emergency medical services arrived at the scene but found no signs of life.
Petty, a male with no fixed address, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Branch are actively investigating the case, which has been ruled a homicide. As of now, no arrests have been made, and authorities have not publicly identified any suspects in connection with the shooting. The police department is urging anyone with information to come forward and has offered a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for his death.
The final chapter of Anthony Petty's life stood in stark contrast to his earlier years. In 1991, at the age of 16, Petty, then known as Anthony Petty Jr., was convicted of first-degree murder for the shooting death of 29-year-old George Reid. That incident reportedly stemmed from a dispute over a small amount of money from a drug transaction. Petty was tried as an adult and sentenced to prison. He was released in 2020 under the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act after serving 30 years. Following his release, he dedicated his life to preventing violence, working as a credible messenger for the East of the River Clergy-Police Community Partnership and as an outreach coordinator for the More Than Our Crimes network, sharing his story to help save at-risk youth.
