A woman died after she was shot outside a gym in Southeast D.C. Thursday morning, police say. Her suspected killer carjacked someone in Maryland and took his own life as D.C. police closed in on him within hours, police said.
Nikiesha Thomas, 33, of Olney, Maryland, was found in a car in the 3200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE, outside Planet Fitness.
The man suspected of killing her, 36-year-old Antoine Oliver, of Fort Washington, Maryland, carjacked someone in Prince George's County and shot himself as police surrounded him, police said.
Officers were called to Planet Fitness parking lot at about 9:30 a.m. after reports of a shooting, police said.
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“A single male from a vehicle ran up to that vehicle, fired at least one shot into the vehicle, striking a female,” Cmdr. John Haines told News4.
Witnesses who declined to go on camera said they heard a loud bang and the screech of tires.
Thomas was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. It was unclear whether she had gone to the gym or was headed there.
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Prince George’s County police were called at about 12:30 p.m. for a report of a carjacking in the 1400 block of McCormick Drive in Largo, police said. Officers spotted the stolen vehicle, a maroon SUV, minutes later. It was headed toward D.C.
Officers began following the SUV. Police stopped the driver at East Capitol Street and Minnesota Avenue in Northeast D.C., about seven miles from the scene of the carjacking.
Oliver shot himself as officers approached the SUV, police said. He was taken to a hospital via helicopter and pronounced dead.
A white sedan with a bullet hole through the driver’s side window could be seen outside the Planet Fitness. It had heavy damage to the front end. It was unclear if the car was damaged before or after the shooting. Some other cars in the parking lot were damaged; one needed to be towed.
The gym was filled with people working out at the time of the shooting. Music might have muffled the sound of gunfire. Two people said they saw emergency vehicles in the parking lot but had no idea someone had been killed.
Thomas and Oliver had a relationship. Police said the homicide was domestic.
Thomas worked for the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education's Strong Start DC Early Intervention Program, which provides "services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and developmental delays and their families."
If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, please call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
