In the late hours of January 8, 2020, in the Shaw neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C., 18-year-old Malick Cisse was fatally shot. The incident occurred at approximately 11:30 p.m. in the 1300 block of Seventh Street NW, just outside the Gibson Plaza Apartments. Responding to the sound of gunshots, officers from the Third District discovered Cisse suffering from a gunshot wound. D.C.
Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel arrived on the scene and transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead despite life-saving efforts.
The investigation into the death of the male teenager led detectives to an 18-year-old suspect, William Whitaker, of Southeast Washington, who was arrested on May 7, 2020. Whitaker was subsequently charged with first-degree murder while armed. Court documents later revealed a narrative of a dispute between Whitaker and Cisse involving a young woman who was Cisse's former girlfriend and was then in a relationship with Whitaker. Evidence presented indicated that Cisse had been lured to the area of the Mount Vernon Square Metro station under the pretense of meeting this woman.
Surveillance footage and social media records played a crucial role in piecing together the events of that night. According to court documents, Whitaker had previously filmed himself taunting Cisse on a metro train. On the night of the shooting, after Cisse arrived at the designated meeting spot to find the woman was not there, Whitaker and other unidentified individuals allegedly pulled up in a white vehicle. It was then that Cisse was shot in the back of the head. The shooting is also believed to be related to a rivalry between crews. In a turn of events, approximately 20 minutes after shooting Cisse, Whitaker himself was shot in what police suspected was an act of retaliation.
The legal proceedings that followed saw William Whitaker plead guilty to a charge of second-degree murder in October 2022. He was sentenced in January 2023 for his role in the killing of Malick Cisse.
