13-year-old shot, killed by off-duty federal officer in attempted DC carjacking

A 13-year-old was shot and killed following an attempted carjacking in Penn Quarter.

D.C. police say they were called to the 600 block of D Street in Northwest around 10 p.m. on Saturday night for reports of a shooting.

Vernard Toney Jr., of Southeast, D.C. was found suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.

D.C. police found during an initial investigation that a federal security officer who was off duty was sitting in his car when two juveniles approached him and demanded he exit the vehicle, according to a news release.

Police say one of the suspects was reportedly holding his hand in his front waistband pocket as if he had a handgun. As the security officer was getting out of the car, he used a hand gun to shoot one of the suspects. The other suspect fled the area.

According to police, the security guard legally owned the firearm and is cooperating with the investigation.

At this time, the security guard is not facing any criminal charges.

A map of the shooting can be seen below:

Grace Newton

Grace Newton is an Associate Producer at WTOP. She also works as an associate producer for NPR Newscast. Grace was born and raised in North Carolina but has lived in D.C. since 2018. Grace graduated from American University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and minor in art history in 2022.

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