WASHINGTON — D.C. officials are now offering $45,000 of reward money for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case of a 10-year-old girl shot and killed in Northeast D.C. earlier this month.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and police Chief Peter Newsham announced the reward increase during a Monday news conference. The FBI contributed to the reward raise from the initial $25,000 offering.
“We have to solve this homicide and solve it just as quickly as possible,” Bowser said.
On the night of July 16, as residents were out in a neighborhood courtyard enjoying the summer weather, a sedan pulled up with the suspected shooters. Four masked suspects got out, opened fire on the Clay Terrace neighborhood, then jumped back in the car and drove off.
Ten-year-old Makiyah Wilson was shot and killed; three men and one woman were also injured during the shooting and hospitalized.
“We need desperately for the public to come forward with any information that they have that may lead to justice for Makiyah and her family,” Bowser said.
Surveillance footage captured the black Infiniti sedan pulling up to the neighborhood courtyard and the four masked suspects getting out in the 300 block of 53rd Street Northeast.
Newsham said the suspects were armed with handguns and at least one assault weapon. They “indiscriminately fired over 70 rounds in multiple directions” in the neighborhood, Newsham added.
Days later, police located the car used in the shooting in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The car had been stolen, Newsham confirmed.
Newsham added that police are looking for five suspects, which includes the four shooters and the driver.
When asked whether police have found a motive in the shooting, Newsham said, “We’re still looking at the motive. We have a couple possible motives, but nothing we want to talk publicly right now.” One possible motive police are looking into is a dispute between neighborhoods, he said.
Newsham also said police do not have probable cause to make any arrests so far in this case, but added that the amount of information the public has been giving police has been “substantial.”
“Detectives have made a significant amount of progress in this case, and I want to thank everybody so far that has come forward with tips and information,” Newsham said.
Though violent crime is down in the District, Newsham added, “We’re very concerned about the recent increase in homicides.”
He said that police have been focused on removing illegal firearms from the District.
People with information about the case can call the D.C. police tip line at 202-727-9099 or text 50411.
