A 14-year-old boy died after he was shot Sunday night in Southeast D.C., police say.
Steven Slaughter was killed on the 1700 block of Minnesota Avenue SE, police said Monday morning. He was a ninth-grader at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
He was "the best kid ever," his heartbroken mother said.
Slaughter played on a Pop Warner football team and loved the sport.
"He was a good kid. He'd go to school, come home, do what he had to do, go to football practice," his uncle said through sobs. "Everyone in the neighborhood loved him."
Slaughter was shot as he headed home from a corner store with a friend.
Officers responded after 7 p.m. after a report of a shooting.
Slaughter was found with more than one gunshot wound just half a block from his home. Medics took him to a hospital, and he was pronounced dead.
"This is a young kid. Never been in trouble before," D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said.
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No information on a suspect was released immediately. Police will review surveillance video for clues.
Neighbor Nandi Osaze, who heard the shots, called for an end to neighborhood violence.
"Fourteen years old? He hadn't even lived yet," she said.
All three people killed in D.C. in 2018 thus far have been young men who were the victims of gun violence. Paris Brown, 19, died after he was shot on the 2400 block of Skyland Place SE on Jan. 10. Davon Fisher, 17, died after he was shot on the 400 block of Riggs Road NE on Jan. 12.
The shooting occurred less than two weeks after Newsham and Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that violent crime was down in the city. The number of violent crimes citywide dropped 22 percent in 2017 compared to the previous year, data shows. The number of homicides dropped 14 percent.
Anyone with information on the killing of Steven Slaughter is asked to call police at 202-727-9099. To submit information anonymously, send a text message to 50411. A reward of as much as $25,000 is offered.
