In the late morning of Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2019, tragedy struck in the nation's capital. A 28-year-old Black man named Michael Andre Francis was in the Unit block of Danbury Street, Southwest, when the sound of gunshots pierced the air. Officers from the Seventh District of the Metropolitan Police Department responded to reports of the shooting at approximately 11:42 a.m.
Upon their arrival, they discovered Francis suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Emergency medical services were dispatched to the scene and quickly transported Francis to a local hospital. Despite the life-saving efforts of medical professionals, his injuries proved to be too severe. Michael Andre Francis, a resident of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was pronounced dead, leaving a community to grapple with a senseless act of violence on a day meant for gratitude and family.
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Branch immediately launched an investigation into the fatal shooting. As they pieced together the events of that morning, they offered a reward of up to $25,000 for any information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Francis's death. Their investigation led them to identify a suspect in the case.
On Tuesday, January 7, 2020, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, acting on a D.C. Superior Court arrest warrant, located and arrested 26-year-old Michael Fahnbulleh of Gaithersburg, Maryland. Fahnbulleh was charged with First Degree Murder while Armed in connection with the shooting death of Michael Andre Francis. However, during a subsequent court hearing, a judge ruled that there was a lack of probable cause to detain Fahnbulleh on the murder charge and ordered his release. Following this decision, he was immediately re-arrested for a parole violation in the state of Maryland.
