A man who was shot while trying to stop a fatal shooting in a busy shopping area in Northeast D.C. told his wife that he just had to intervene, and his only regret is not being able to prevent the murder of a teenager.
An officer was on patrol at Rhode Island Row in the 2300 block of Washington Place NE when they heard gunshots at about 4:30 p.m. Monday. They went toward the sound and found that a teenage boy and a man had been shot, according to a release from the Metropolitan Police Department.
The two victims were taken to a hospital, where the teenager, 17-year-old Antonio Cunningham, was pronounced dead.
Family members said he was walking in to start his shift at Jersey Mike’s Subs. They described him as a motivated, hard worker, who leaves behind five siblings.
The 56-year-old man who said he tried to stop the altercation was shot in the stomach. His wife, Tammy, told News4 that her husband sensed something bad was about to happen when he drove into the shopping plaza.
“He had just parked his truck, he said, when a black SUV or van or something pulled up right next to him without parking, and three gentlemen got out with face masks on,” Tammy said.
Tammy said that when her husband saw the men in masks shove Cunningham and the other teen up against the glass window of a sandwich shop, he instinctively intervened.
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“He tried to call out first, to act like he knew the boy so that hopefully they would stop. And the guy was asking, ‘Who are you?’” Tammy said. “And he was trying to get them to leave the kids alone, and the guy asked him again, ‘Who are you?’ And without even warning, he just turned and shot him.”
Tammy said her husband, even while being treated for a gunshot wound, wanted to know if the teens were OK.
He was heartbroken to learn Cunningham did not survive, but gratified to learn the second teen apparently made it to safety.
Tammy said she asked her husband not to risk his safety like that again, but that the answer was what she expected.
“He automatically gets involved. He just believes we have to do something. Otherwise, they get away with it,” she said.
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There are security cameras in the area where the teen was killed, but it’s not clear whether they recorded anything that could help detectives.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 202-727-9099 or text 50411.
