Even The Pope’s Visit Can’t Stop People In DC From Murdering Each Other
Posted By Josh Fatzick On 12:54 PM 09/24/2015 In | No Comments
The good feelings emanating from Pope Francis didn’t reach everyone in the district, as just hours after his arrival a man was gunned down in the middle of a busy street.
Tuesday night around at around 8:30 gunfire erupted at the busy intersection of V and 14th street Northwest, leaving one man dead and sending others diving for cover, The Washington Post reports.
Raphael Roy, 29, allegedly shot Delaney Epps, 29, five or six times after the two got in a dispute over a drug sale. Roy told police he was trying to buy marijuana from Epps when they started arguing and someone made a move on him.
The shooting occurred at a heavily trafficked intersection in the U Street corridor, which is lined with trendy restaurants and night clubs. That particular night around 25 people were eating on a restaurant patio less than 50 feet from the scene of the shooting, according to the Post. They were all forced to take cover under tables and behind the building until the gunfire stopped.
Police arrested Roy after a brief foot chase and found a 9 mm Hi-Point pistol they say he tossed behind an apartment building.
This latest murder brings the city’s yearly total up to 116, representing a more than 45 percent increase over the same time in 2014. The city saw just 105 murders in all of last year.
Last month, a drive-by shooting occurred outside a Metro station just a just a few blocks from where the scene of this most recent murder.
Matthew Shlonsky was getting out of a cab at about 5 p.m. just down the street from the Howard University train stop. He was on his way to meet up with some friends for a going away party.
The next thing he knew, he was struck by a bullet and laying face up in the street. When police arrived, they found Shlonsky unconscious and attempted to perform CPR. It was too late, though, and Shlonsky was pronounced dead at the nearby Howard University Hospital.
Shlonsky, a former Congressional intern, was caught in the crossfire of what appeared to be a gang related shooting and was not the intended target.
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