A man suspected in a shooting in which a 22-year-old college student was killed and four others were injured inside a market in Southeast D.C. Monday morning had been picked up on a gun-related charge last month.
Terrance Oxner of Manassas, Virginia, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder while armed.
D.C. police and medics were called to 14th Street and Good Hope Road SE before 9 a.m. after several people were reported to have been shot, police said.
At least one shooter had opened fire inside and outside the market in the 1400 block of Good Hope Road, Metropolitan Police Department Acting Chief Robert Contee said. Police said they did not immediately know whether any of the victims were intended targets.
When officers arrived at the scene, three men were found suffering from gunshot wounds. One was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and another was transported with life-threatening injuries, police said.
Edward was top of the line. You couldn’t get any better than him. He made a difference in his neighborhood.
Denise Wade Kirksey, the victim's aunt
The third victim, identified by his family and police as Edward Wade, was found dead, police said.
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Two more men went to local hospitals for treatment of non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, and one of them was determined to be a suspect, police said.
Wade, who was about to graduate from Virginia Union University, had stopped at the store to pick up food as his mother waited outside.
“Edward was top of the line. You couldn’t get any better than him. He made a difference in his neighborhood,” Denise Wade Kirksey, his aunt, said.
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He was loving and family-oriented, and graduated from Anacostia High School, where he won several awards for being a positive role model, his family said. He worked hard in hope of a better life, Kirksey said.
“Being that one person that made it,” she said.
D.C. police did not immediately release more information on the shooting victims.
Police were seeking four persons of interest and a white, two-door Honda Accord. One of the persons of interest was wearing a “distinct neon-colored coat,” Contee said.
Photos from police show the vehicle and two men.
Oxner was picked up for assault with a gun Dec. 21, according to police, but it’s unclear what happened to that case. Law enforcement sources said there is no record Oxner appeared before a judge.
Oxner appeared in court Tuesday and pleaded not guilty. The judge ordered him held without bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for February.
Police are looking for additional gunmen.
Anyone with information on the shooting, the car or the persons of interest is asked to contact police. A reward of as much as $25,000 is available for information that leads to an arrest.
Wade’s aunt Cheryl McDonald said she wanted justice.
“I just hope that they find the people that done this to my nephew and give them the maximum time,” she said.
In brief remarks later Monday, Mayor Muriel Bowser said she was troubled by continued gun crimes in the District and “a level of violence that is jolting to all of us.”
Wade’s cousin Jonathan Harris said he was angry about the senseless violence that took his cousin’s life.
“You can’t go to the store to get nothing without, you have to worry about you get shot coming out the store. This is ridiculous,” he said.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
