On the evening of April 9, 2017, Zaan Scott, a 25-year-old man, was walking home in Southeast Washington, D.C., after his shift as a popular swim instructor. He made a quick stop at a corner store to buy his fiancée her favorite candy before continuing on his way. As he neared his apartment on Southern Avenue, two men approached him from behind in an attempted robbery. When Scott resisted, a struggle ensued, and he was shot once in the back.
The assailants searched his pockets but fled after finding nothing of value. Lying wounded on the street, Scott managed to call his fiancée for help.
The single gunshot wound left Zaan Scott paralyzed from the waist down. The bullet was lodged in a precarious position near his spine, and doctors deemed it too risky to remove. For the next month, he began the arduous process of rehabilitation, facing the new reality of life in a wheelchair. The community on Capitol Hill, where he was affectionately known as 'Coach Z' for his ability to coax even the most fearful children into the water, rallied around him and his fiancée, raising money to help with his medical costs. Despite his optimistic outlook, his life was tragically cut short on May 17, 2017, when he died from a blood clot that had formed as a direct result of the gunshot wound. His death was officially ruled a homicide.
The investigation into Zaan Scott's death led to the arrest of Christopher Green in January 2019. Green, who was also a suspect in other armed robberies in the area, gave conflicting accounts of the events of that night, at one point claiming another man with him had fired the shot. Ultimately, Green was charged with first-degree murder. His co-defendant, Ernest Miller, later admitted to being the one who shot Scott after Green initiated the robbery.
In December 2021, a jury found Christopher Green guilty of first-degree murder, attempted robbery, and other charges related to the death of Zaan Scott. Despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and a hung jury on some counts in his first trial, Green was eventually sentenced to more than 35 years in prison. Ernest Miller, who cooperated with prosecutors, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. The sentencing brought a measure of closure to a case that had deeply affected the community and left a lasting void in the lives of Zaan Scott's family and all who knew him.
