Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with the murder of a young Capitol Hill intern, who was shot a mile from the White House earlier this summer.
At 10:28 p.m. on June 30, UMass Amherst rising senior Eric Tarpinian-Jachym was killed in a drive-by shooting near the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in downtown Washington, D.C., according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, was a legislative intern in the office of Republican Kansas Rep. Ron Estes this summer, according to his obituary. He died on July 1.
“He was hit four times,” said Jeanine Pirro, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, during a press conference on Friday, September 5.
The shooting injured two people: a 16-year-old boy and an adult female.
After a two-month investigation, Pirro announced that Jalen Lucas and Kelvin Thomas Jr., both 17, had been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the case.
The teenagers will be prosecuted as adults, she stated. Authorities are looking for a third suspect, she stated.
Described as “an innocent bystander,” she went on: “His death is a stark reminder of how fragile life is and how violence too often visits us in the nation’s capital.”
She believes the shooting was the result of an ongoing “dispute” between rival gangs in D.C., and Tarpinian-Jachym was not the intended target.
Rep. Estes said in a statement on Wednesday, July 2, “I will remember his kind heart and how he always greeted everyone who came into our office with a cheerful smile.
“We are grateful to Eric for his service to Kansas’ 4th District and the country.”
It’s unclear whether the two teenagers have hired attorneys to represent them.
