A boy walks to school at right and a crossing guard stands left near flowers secured to a pole as a memorial to Karon Blake, 13, on the corner of Quincy Street NE and Michigan Avenue NE in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, Jan. 10, 2023. The note reads, "Karon we will love and miss you dearly." (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A 13-year-old Black teenager named Karon Blake was fatally shot by a still unnamed Black male homeowner on Jan. 7, 2023, in Brookland, Washington, D.C. The homeowner, who was not arrested or charged with any crime, told local authorities he witnessed Blake was breaking into cars. The shooter turned out to be a D.C. government employee.
The teen was pronounced dead at an area children’s hospital.
Karon suffered multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Metropolitan Police Department report.
The alleged shooter heard noises outside his home and noticed someone trying to break into vehicles just before 4 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7, stated MPD detectives. The homeowner went outside with his registered firearm, and he and Blake had an interaction, resulting in the man shooting the teen, according to the report.
The shooter is a D.C. government employee and has been put on administrative leave, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced.
Bowser added that the man had no involvement with law enforcement.
Police said the man performed CPR on Blake after shooting him, NBC Washington reported.
D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee III said in a news conference that the U.S. Attorney’s Office was also investigating the case and, ultimately, all of the facts would go before a grand jury.
“Too many people have made assumptions about this case, and it’s dangerous,” he said.
The incident has caused outrage in the area and on social media.
“I again wish to express my deepest condolences to the family of Karon Blake. He was a son, brother, friend, and student who should still be here,” Ward 5 Council Member Zachary Parker told ABC News in a statement. “I am deeply saddened and outraged by Karon’s killing.”
Parker continued, “No car or material possession is worth a life — under any circumstances. I join Ward 5 residents in calling on the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to hold accountable the individual who took Karon’s life.”
A boy walks to school at right and a crossing guard stands left near flowers secured to a pole as a memorial to Karon Blake, 13, on the corner of Quincy Street NE and Michigan Avenue NE in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, Jan. 10, 2023. The note reads, “Karon we will love and miss you dearly.” Karon Blake was shot and killed on the 1000 block of Quincy Street NE early morning Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
