In the fall of 2022, the lives of two childhood friends from District Heights, Maryland, were tragically cut short in a burst of gunfire in Southeast Washington, D.C. Nineteen-year-old Davonte Aaron Berkely, a male, and his close friend, Reginald Cooper Jr., also 19, were fatally shot on the evening of Monday, October 17, 2022. The two had been friends since childhood and were working together at Restaurant Depot.
On that fateful evening, Berkely and Cooper traveled to the 1300 block of
Congress Street SE. There, they were met by a young man who greeted them with handshakes before leading them into an apartment building. Inside the building, in a stairwell, an ambush awaited. Surveillance footage from the scene reportedly captured the muzzle flash of a gun being fired by the individual who had just greeted them.
The attack was brutal and swift. Berkely was struck by four bullets, sustaining wounds to his back, torso, arm, and buttocks. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries three hours later. Cooper was shot eight times in the head, back, and torso and was pronounced dead at the scene. A third individual was also wounded in the shooting, suffering a gunshot wound to his leg. The mothers of both slain teenagers expressed profound grief and confusion, stating they were unaware of why their sons were in that particular area or who would want to harm them.
Months after the shooting, an arrest was made in the case. Amarii Fontanelle, 20, of Bowie, Maryland, was indicted in October 2023 for the killings of Berkely and Cooper. The indictment included two counts of first-degree premeditated murder while armed, one count of assault with the intent to kill while armed, one count of aggravated assault while armed, and other firearms-related charges. Fontanelle's associates were reportedly waiting in the stairwell when he led the two lifelong friends into the building. Following the gunfire, Fontanelle and his associates were seen fleeing the scene.
