Police arrested a man in the death of a 14-year-old boy who was shot in front of a community church as he walked home from a southeast D.C. convenience store.
Steven Slaughter was killed Jan. 14 on the 1700 block of Minnesota Avenue SE. He was a ninth-grader at Friendship Collegiate Academy.
Officials announced the arrest of 21-year-old Anthony Deandre Allen of Southeast during a news conference Monday afternoon.
Slaughter was just half a block from his home when he was shot in an apparent robbery attempt, police said. He was with friends when he was shot.
“Why somebody would select these kids to take something from them, you know, who knows?” Police Chief Peter Newsham said.
Medics took him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A tip led police to a vehicle of interest in the case, which had been stolen in a carjacking about a week before the homicide, police said. Police found the car, and inside it, the weapon used in the shooting. Forensic evidence from the weapon led police to Allen, Newsham said.
Allen is charged with first-degree murder while armed.
Police believe there could be another suspect.
“Being able to close the case, I think, is the least we can do for the family, but they’re going to have to live this for the rest of their lives,” Newsham said.
Slaughter played on a Pop Warner football team and loved the sport.
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His uncle said the family is relieved by the arrest.
“I have no remorse, no sympathy or anything," he said about the suspect. "Will I forgive him? No. Will I forget? No.”
