In the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, January 6, 2019, the sound of gunfire echoed through a Northwest Washington, D.C. neighborhood, leaving a young man fatally wounded. Donald Rafus Benson, a 21-year-old male, was discovered by Metropolitan Police Department officers on the Unit Block of O Street, Northwest, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The location of the shooting was approximately three blocks from the Noma-Gallaudet University metro station.
Police from the Fifth District were
dispatched to the area at approximately 3:24 a.m. following reports of gunshots. Upon their arrival, they found Benson in critical condition. D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to the scene and transported him to a nearby hospital for treatment of his life-threatening injuries. Despite all life-saving efforts, he was pronounced dead at the hospital. Benson was reported to have no fixed address.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, detectives from the Homicide Branch began their investigation. No suspects were immediately identified, and no arrests were made. The Metropolitan Police Department offered a reward of up to $25,000 for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Benson's death. His death was one of six homicides that occurred in the District of Columbia over that violent weekend.
