In the late summer of 2018, the life of a young Washington, D.C. man was cut short in a burst of gunfire that marked a grim milestone for the city. Travis Barksdale, a 25-year-old male, was shot and killed shortly after midnight on Thursday, August 23, 2018. The fatal shooting occurred in the 600 block of Evarts Street NE, just around the corner from his home in the Edgewood community.
His death was the city's 100th homicide of that year.
Barksdale, who was described as a family-oriented man and a father to a young daughter, worked at the Madame Tussauds wax museum, where he crafted wax hands for the figures. His mother, Katrina Barksdale, expressed her shock and grief, stating she couldn't imagine who would want to harm her son. He was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the shooting led police to an ongoing and violent dispute between individuals from the Edgewood and Saratoga Avenue neighborhoods. Several witnesses indicated that Barksdale had been targeted due to his association with the Edgewood community, although police stated he was not a member of the Edgewood Terrace Crew. It was reported that Barksdale had armed himself for self-defense in the context of this neighborhood rivalry.
In November 2018, an arrest was made in connection with the murder. Mark Anthony Fletcher III, 19 years old at the time, was charged with second-degree murder while armed. According to court documents, Fletcher had been involved in a prior shootout with Barksdale in June of that year, during which Fletcher was wounded. Witnesses alleged that just days before the fatal shooting, Fletcher had confronted Barksdale in an attempt to extort money or marijuana from him, referencing the earlier shooting. Barksdale refused, and a few days later, he was shot in the back and arm. Police recovered 32 shell casings from the scene of the crime. Fletcher was already in the D.C. jail on a gun charge at the time he was arrested for Barksdale's murder.
