Police in D.C. identified the Maryland man who was shot and killed in front of a cosmetology school in Northeast D.C. Friday morning by a gunman with “very unusual hair” who took off after the shooting.
De’mari Twyman, 21, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, died, after the suspect, who was described as having long red and pink hair — which may have been a wig — approached him in front of the Bennett Career Institute near the Brookland-CUA Metro station shortly before 9 a.m. and shot him with a handgun.
“It looked like the suspect in this case targeted the victim for some reason, which we don’t know,” Police Chief Peter Newsham told reporters during a news conference.
Police have not said if the victim was a student at the school, but it appears that he was approaching the school at the time he was shot, Newsham said.
Twyman was taken to the hospital, where he died.
2.28.20 Chief Newsham provides update to shooting in the 700 block of Monroe St NE pic.twitter.com/pbDNn3QJKZ
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) February 28, 2020
After the shooting, the gunman took off on foot toward Eighth Street and then headed south, police said. In addition to the unusual hair, the gunman is described as a black male with a very slender build wearing a red jacket with dark clothing underneath and a dark-colored hood.
Newsham asked anyone who witnessed the shooting to contact police.
Police released photos of the suspect later Friday afternoon, and are offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
MPD seeks the public’s assistance in identifying a suspect in reference to a homicide offense that occurred this morning, 2/28/20, in the 700 block of Monroe Street, NE.
Have info? Call (202) 727-9099/text 50411 pic.twitter.com/Rnys0mJR0Z
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) February 28, 2020
“This is really nice part of town,” Newsham said. “It’s very well traveled. If they saw anything, please give us a call … A young man lost his life today, which is very disturbing to all of us.”
Speaking at the news conference, Kenyan McDuffie, who represents Ward 5 on the D.C. Council, called the shooting “heinous,” and characterized it as a “brazen act of gun violence in broad daylight not far from a Metro station at a very busy intersection.”
He added: “We’ve got a community that’s just suffered another episode of gun violence and we’re going to need the public’s help to solve this, to bring some justice for this family. This community is outraged. People are tired of the gunfire.”
Below is a map showing the approximate location of the shooting:
