Metropolitan Police Department (DC Police / MPD)

DC 15-Year-Old's Death May Have Been Result of Neighborhood Dispute

Gerald Watson, a ninth-grader, is believed to have been the intended target

A surveillance video from March helped police make an arrest in the slaying of Gerald Watson, a 15-year-old shot and killed near his home in Southeast D.C. last week.

According to court documents, a witness told police one of the suspects, 16-year-old Malik Holston, is the gunmen in a crime camera video circulated by police. It shows someone firing off a gun and running back and forth.

Last Thursday, two masked gunmen chased and gunned down Watson in the stairwell of an apartment near his home. He was shot 17 times.

According to court documents, witnesses told police that Malik from Hartford Street was involved in the homicide and was known to carry a gun.

On a wall near Watson’s home, the words “(expletive) Spread gang” and “(expletive) Leek” are written. Holston goes by the nickname Leek.

Investigators are looking into the possibility Spread gang could be linked to the crime.

D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham characterized the killing as "one of these senseless disputes between two neighborhood groups."

Holston of Southeast D.C. was charged as an adult with first-degree murder while armed. 

At least one other suspect is still sought. 

Anyone with information for police is asked to call 202-727-9099, or send an anonymous tip via text to 50411.

Juveniles Shot in DC in 2018

The victims include a 10-year-old girl who was killed and a 3-year-old boy who was hurt.

Source: NBC Washington reporting and Metropolitan Police Department press releases. NBC Washington submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for police data on all shootings of juveniles in 2018 thus far. The request is pending.
Note: Dates listed are the dates of the shootings, not, when applicable, the deaths of the victims. Map includes victims age 17 and younger.

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