2 teens charged in murder of Capitol Hill intern from UMass in Washington, D.C.
Two teenagers were arrested in Washington, D.C. Friday for the murder of a University of Massachusetts student who was interning in Congress.
Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, of Granby, Massachusetts, was one of three people who were wounded in a shooting near the convention center in Washington on June 30. All three were rushed to hospitals. Tarpinian-Jachym died the next day. Police said he was an innocent bystander and was not the intended target.
At a news conference Friday, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said two 17-year-old boys have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Pirro said both are being charged as adults and have "violent" records in family court.
Authorities are still looking for 18-year-old Naqwan Antonio "Qwan" Lucas in connection with the shooting. Lucas is wanted on a D.C. Superior Court arrest warrant for first degree murder while armed. A reward of up to $50,000 is being offered for information leading to his arrest.
Tarpinian-Jachym was a rising senior at UMass. He was spending the summer in Washington as a congressional intern, working for Rep. Ron Estes, a Republican from Kansas.
His mother, Tamara Tarpinian-Jachym, told WJLA-TV her son was neurodiverse and overcame dyslexia and a heart condition to land a coveted Congressional internship.
Metropolitan Police Commander Kevin Kentish said investigators believe the shooting was the result of a "neighborhood crew dispute."
"I want to echo what we've heard today about ensuring that there is justice for Eric. Any level of gun violence in our city is unacceptable and certainly someone just walking up the street in the evening on one of our DC streets should be safe in doing so," Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters.
