A northwest D.C. man was shot and killed during an apparent robbery attempt early Monday morning.
Antonio Ayala, 34, was walking home from a store with two friends about 2:30 a.m. when two men wearing ski masks attempted to rob them at 13th and Van Buren streets.
One of Ayala's friends said one of the men in ski masks put a gun to his head so he pushed him away.
The gun fired and Ayala was struck in the chest.
He was taken to a hospital where he died, police said.
Ayala leaves behind a wife. He had worked at several restaurants in D.C.
Residents in the area have been circulating an online petition asking Mayor Muriel Bowser for help with a recent increase in violence in the Brightwood and Petworth neighborhoods.
