In the summer of 2019, a quiet street in Northeast Washington, D.C. became the scene of a heart-wrenching discovery. On the evening of Friday, July 19th, police responded to a call for a welfare check at a residence in the 1100 block of Queen Street, NE. Inside, they found the bodies of 57-year-old Hugh Washington-Scruggs and his 17-year-old son, Ahkii Tavon Washington-Scruggs.
Both father and son had been fatally shot.
The discovery was made after a concerned family member requested that authorities check on them. It was not immediately clear how long the two had been deceased inside the home. Hugh Washington, a former construction worker who was disabled, and his son lived together in the Trinidad neighborhood apartment where their bodies were found. The Metropolitan Police Department swiftly launched a double homicide investigation into their deaths.
In the days and weeks that followed, the community mourned the loss of a father and his teenage son. Ahkii was a rising senior and a linebacker on the football team at Dunbar Senior High School. His death was particularly felt by his teammates and coaches, who remembered him as a talented player who dreamed of playing in the city's annual Turkey Bowl championship.
Despite the ongoing investigation and a reward of up to $25,000 per victim offered by the D.C. police for information leading to an arrest and conviction, the case remains unsolved. In the initial stages of the investigation, police had no suspect information to release to the public and appealed for any witnesses who may have seen something suspicious in the area to come forward. As of late 2019, no arrests had been made in connection with the double homicide of Hugh Washington-Scruggs and his son, leaving a family and community still searching for answers.
