A 17-year-old boy who was shot and killed in Northwest D.C. on Saturday was a high school junior who dreamed of becoming an EMT, his family said.
Brayan Villataro died after he was shot in the 1300 block of Nicholson Street NW. He is the sixth person fatally shot in the Brightwood area in just over two weeks.
“The family right now is very broken,” Villataro’s sister Ana Figueroa told News4 on Monday.
Her brother, a Coolidge High School student, was killed a few blocks from their home.
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Fourth District officers were alerted at about 9:10 p.m. that someone had been shot. Neighbors heard several shots. First responders found Villataro with multiple gunshot wounds and no signs of life. Many officers responded to the area, News4 footage showed.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday that she was monitoring the killings in the Brightwood area.
“I’m extremely concerned by what I see as some back-and-forth violence but very significant violence,” she said.
Fourth District Cmdr. Randy Griffin said officers were working to get illegal guns off streets. They have made more than 20 illegal gun arrests in the Fourth District this month so far.
No arrests in Villataro’s killing were announced. A reward of up to $25,000 is offered to anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest.
Six people have been killed in the Brightwood area since Sept. 3. Residents told News4 they fear for their safety.
Eyon Falby, 65, was shot and killed in the 900 block of Rittenhouse Street NW on Sept. 3.
Keenan Braxton, 24; Donnetta Dyson, 31; and Johnny Joyner, 37 were shot and killed in the 600 block of Longfellow Street NW a day later, on Sept. 4.
Delonte Hazel, 31, was shot and killed in the 100 block of Kennedy Street NW on Sept. 10.
Anyone with information on the crimes is asked to contact police.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
