TaQuan Pinkney had plans to start college at the University of the District of Columbia this fall and was his sister’s best friend. Then, he was shot and killed Sunday while going to buy a soda. News4’s Darcy Spencer spoke with Pinkney’s heartbroken mother.
Taquan Pinkney had a big family. Many friends. And a plan to start college this fall.
But that was taken away from him on Sunday afternoon when he was shot and killed.
Pinkney was coming home after getting a soda at a corner store in Southeast D.C. His mother told News4 that gunfire broke out, and Pinkney ran. He was struck in the back.
Police responded 1:30 p.m. to the 2800 block of Stanton Road, finding Pinkney suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital and later died. He was 18.
"It's sad," Pinkney's mother, Yolanda Pinkney, told News4. "Who gets it... the innocent."
Pinkney was a four-year member of Horton's Kids, a non-profit that provides homework help and tutoring in the neighborhood. The goal is to help kids graduate high school and prepare for college.
Pinkney was a success story: The group posted that he was headed to the University of the District of Columbia this month and had been working at a restaurant to pay his tuition.
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The family hopes the shooter comes forward. D.C. police are investigating as a homicide; There is a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.
