In the late summer afternoon of September 1, 2016, a burst of violence shattered the calm of a residential street in Southeast Washington, D.C. Seventeen-year-old Kevin Anthony Jackson II was in the 1900 block of 16th Street SE when he was fatally shot. The incident, which occurred around 2:15 p.m., left the young man with a gunshot wound to the head.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries shortly after arriving.
The brazen daytime shooting stemmed from a dispute between rival neighborhood crews, according to a D.C. homicide detective's testimony. The investigation revealed that Jackson and the alleged shooter had previous altercations. A witness informed detectives that Jackson and others had reportedly assaulted the suspect in the months leading up to the fatal encounter. On the day of the shooting, a security video captured the suspect walking towards the scene while touching what appeared to be the handle of a gun in his waistband.
Following the shooting, the Metropolitan Police Department launched an investigation that quickly led to a suspect. A 15-year-old male was arrested at his school and charged with first-degree murder while armed. During questioning, the teenager initially denied being at the scene. However, when confronted with evidence, including the security footage and a witness identification, his story changed. He first claimed to have fired a shot into the air, but later admitted to firing at Jackson 'two to four times.' Investigators recovered four bullet shell casings from the crime scene.
The young suspect was charged as a juvenile and ordered to be detained with the District's Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. In a separate but initially believed to be related incident around the same time and a block away, a pizza delivery driver was also shot and wounded. Police later determined that this second shooting was unrelated to Jackson's death.
