On a Wednesday afternoon, September 23, 2020, 30-year-old Christopher Washington was waiting at a bus stop in the 400 block of Southern Avenue, SE in Washington, D.C. It was approximately 2:24 p.m. when his life was abruptly and violently cut short. A stolen white pickup truck pulled up, and a man armed with an assault rifle emerged and opened fire, killing Mr. Washington at the scene.
This brazen daytime shooting launched an investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department.
The investigation led to the identification of Terrell Poe, a 37-year-old man from Washington, D.C., as the suspect. Evidence presented at trial revealed a chilling sequence of events leading up to the murder. Just minutes before the shooting, Poe was captured on surveillance footage in a local church parking lot. There, he switched from his girlfriend's car into the stolen pickup truck with the apparent intention of finding Mr. Washington. Poe was seen driving past Washington as he walked along Indian Head Highway in Maryland, before turning around to pursue him. After momentarily losing sight of him, Poe located Washington again at the bus stop and carried out the fatal attack.
Following the murder, Poe returned to the church parking lot, abandoned the stolen truck, and fled in his girlfriend's car. His efforts to evade justice were ultimately unsuccessful. Terrell Poe was later arrested and charged with the murder of Christopher Washington. In February 2024, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm. On June 14, 2024, Terrell Poe was sentenced to 45 years in prison for the murder, to be followed by five years of supervised release.
