In the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 18, 2014, a confrontation on K Street in Northwest Washington, D.C. ended a manhunt and a young man's life. That man was 19-year-old Daquan Hendrix of Hyattsville, Maryland. His death came at the hands of law enforcement officers who were attempting to bring him into custody for the recent slaying of another teenager.
Members of a regional fugitive task force had tracked Hendrix to an apartment building located a few blocks north of Union
Station. They were there to serve an arrest warrant connecting him to the murder of 19-year-old Tykia Dickerson, who had been shot and killed the previous month. The task force, comprised of U.S. Marshals, moved in to apprehend Hendrix at approximately 6:15 a.m.
As the officers closed in, the situation escalated dramatically. Hendrix emerged from the residence and, rather than surrendering, he brandished a handgun and opened fire on the law enforcement officers. The officers immediately returned fire, and in the ensuing shootout, Daquan Hendrix was fatally wounded. No police officers were injured during the exchange of gunfire.
The death of Daquan Hendrix concluded the investigation into Tykia Dickerson's murder, as he was the sole suspect. The incident, as is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings, prompted an internal investigation. At the time, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier expressed that while this was not the desired outcome, she was appreciative of the community's assistance in helping to close the case.
