On a Thursday afternoon, October 13, 2022, in Northeast, D.C., 15-year-old Andre Robertson Jr. was on the porch of his great-grandmother's home in the 500 block of 48th Place, Northeast. At approximately 3:40 p.m., what should have been a normal afternoon turned tragic when he was struck by gunfire. First responders arrived to find the young male suffering from gunshot wounds and transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead despite life-saving efforts.
The shooting happened as school children were being dropped off in the neighborhood, a shocking event for the community.
The investigation into Andre's death led to the arrest of a 15-year-old male from Northeast, D.C., on November 4, 2022, who was subsequently charged with first-degree murder while armed. Later, a 13-year-old was also arrested in connection with the fatal shooting and faced the same charge. Police indicated that the shooting appeared to be a targeted attack but did not publicly state a motive. Tragically, this was not the first time the Robertson family had experienced such loss; Andre's father had been killed about a year prior in a separate incident.
The 15-year-old suspect, who was also implicated in the shooting and attempted robbery of Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr., pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Andre's death on January 23, 2023. During the court hearing, it was revealed that the teenager was in a vehicle that drove by the house where Andre was sitting and fired shots from inside the car. The suspect also pleaded guilty to charges related to the incident with the NFL player. For the killing of Andre Robertson Jr., the teen received the maximum sentence allowed for a juvenile, which will see him in a high-security facility until he is 21. The victim's family, present for the legal proceedings, expressed that the sentence was not enough for their loss.
