Two teenagers have been arrested in the murder of a Capitol Hill intern who was shot just a mile from the White House earlier this summer.
On June 30, UMass Amherst student Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, was killed in a drive-by shooting around 10:28 p.m. near the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., according to the Metropolitan Police Department. He passed away the next day, on July 1.
Tarpinian-Jachym, a rising senior, was spending the summer as a legislative intern for Republican Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas, his obituary noted.
“He was hit four times,” said Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, during a press conference on Friday, Sept. 5. A 16-year-old boy and an adult woman were also injured in the shooting.
After a two-month investigation, Pirro announced that Jalen Lucas and Kelvin Thomas Jr., both 17, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Police said the teens will be tried as adults, and authorities are still looking for a third suspect.
Calling Tarpinian-Jachym “an innocent bystander,” Pirro added, “His death is a stark reminder of how fragile life is and how violence too often visits us in the nation’s capital.” She explained that investigators believe the shooting stemmed from a gang dispute and that Tarpinian-Jachym was not the intended target.
In a July 2 statement, Rep. Estes said, “I will remember his kind heart and how he always greeted anyone who entered our office with a cheerful smile. We are grateful to Eric for his service to Kansas’ 4th District and the country.”
It is not yet clear whether the two teens have attorneys to represent them.
