WASHINGTON (AP) — Two teenagers were arrested Friday on murder charges in the killing of a congressional intern who was struck by stray bullets during a shooting in the nation’s capital — a crime that President Donald Trump cited in announcing a law-enforcement surge in Washington.
Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, of Granby, Massachusetts, was fatally shot on the night of June 30 near Washington’s Mount Vernon Square. Both suspects in his killing — Kelvin Thomas Jr. and Jailen Lucas —are 17-year-old juveniles but are charged as adults with first-degree murder while armed, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
Police were searching for a third suspect whose name and age weren’t immediately released.
Tarpinian-Jachym was an “innocent bystander” who wasn’t an intended target of the gunfire, Pirro said at a news conference where she was flanked by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the city’s police chief.
“Eric didn’t deserve to be gunned down, and the system failed him — the system that felt that juveniles needed to be coddled,” Pirro said. “This killing underscores why we need the authority to prosecute these younger kids, because they’re not kids. They’re criminals.”
Tarpinian-Jachym was a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was in Washington to work as a summer intern in the office of Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kansas.
In July, the House observed a moment of silence after Estes paid tribute to Tarpinian-Jachym, calling him “a dedicated, and thoughtful and kind person who loved our country.”
“We will never forget his presence and kindness in my office,” Estes said. “Those he met in his short term in my office will not forget him, either.”
Trump mentioned Tarpinian-Jachym’s killing — but not his name — during an Aug. 11 news conference where he announced a federal intervention for a “public safety emergency” in the District of Columbia.
“Any level of gun violence in our city is unacceptable,” Bowser said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday’s arrests are “a testament to President Trump’s efforts to make Washington, D.C., safe again.”
“The Department of Justice will continue our work to prevent other young people from suffering the same fate as Eric,” Bondi said in a statement. “We hope this brings some measure of solace to his family.”
The suspects, both district residents, exited a vehicle at an intersection and shot at two people riding bikes, including a 16-year-old male who was wounded, according to Metropolitan Police Department Commander Kevin Kentish.
Tarpinian-Jachym was struck by four shots. A woman who wasn’t a target also was shot but survived, according to Kentish. Surveillance video helped investigators identify the three suspects, he said.
Online court records didn’t immediately identify attorneys for the suspects.
MPD Chief Pamela Smith said she and Pirro spoke to Tarpinian-Jachym’s mother on Friday.
“Eric came to our city with a bright future ahead of him,” Smith said. “He deserved an opportunity to return home safely to his family, but was senselessly taken from his loved ones.”
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Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.
