A woman found in a burning apartment in Southeast D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood Sunday was shot to death, police said Monday.
The fire was used to cover up the murder of 32-year-old Cynthia Barringer, police said.
Barringer was found in a home in the 2300 block of Green Street SE before 5 p.m. Sunday. The fire was confined to one unit, D.C. Fire and EMS said.
Barringer was the mother of a 13-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy.
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She was a special police officer and security guard who had applied to become a U.S. Capitol Police officer.
Dominique Chase, the father of her children, told News4 he was celebrating Halloween with the kids, so they were not there when their mom died.
“A very loving person,” he said. “She was for her kids, all for her kids. Everything she did, she made sure that her kids were gonna benefit from.”
“It’s gonna turn their world upside down,” he said.
“DC Fire and EMS is deeply saddened to report that the adult female victim #DCsBravest located during the apartment fire in the 2300 block of Green St. SE succumbed to injuries. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends,” the fire department said in a tweet Monday morninng.
Smoke alarms were present, the fire department said. An investigation is ongoing.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
