Two 17-year-old boys have been charged with the brutal murder of a young Congressional staffer who was shot and killed just a mile from the White House. Jalen Lucas and Kelvin Thomas Jr. will be tried as adults in the shooting death of 21-year-old congressional aide Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro announced on Friday.
Pirro also said both teens have histories of violent crime and noted that a third suspect, whose name has not been released, is still at large. Tarpinian-Jachym, a promising politician, was shot and killed mercilessly in a drive-by while interning in D.C. for Kansas Rep. Ron Estes around 10:30 p.m. on June 30.
Nabbed at Last
The Massachusetts native, who had aspired for a career in politics, had been heading out to get a late-night meal at McDonald's when the gunmen opened fire. Pirro said investigators believe the young intern was not the intended target. Instead, he was caught in the middle of an ongoing dispute between rival gangs in D.C.
A 16-year-old boy and a woman were also injured in the shooting, with the attackers leaving behind a 9mm pistol and 79 rounds at the scene.
Tarpinian-Jachym's death has become a flashpoint in Washington in recent weeks, after President Trump deployed National Guard troops to the capital, saying the city is overrun with violent crime.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Tarpinian-Jachym's mother, Tamara, said she was devastated by the random act of violence that took her son's life.
"My son had a false sense of security that time of night in that area," she said. "It happened a mile away from the White House.
"Eric took the bullet for a 16-year-old. He was an innocent bystander. I think America needs to know that they're not safe in D.C. My son paid the ultimate price."
Tragic Death Mourned
Friend Phillip Peterson told Fox5DC that he will remember Tarpinian-Jachym as a kind and intelligent person who didn't deserve what happened to him. "Eric was a good, smart Republican," he said.
"Quite frankly, somebody in Congress should introduce a bill called the Eric Jachym Act that works on increasing police support in D.C, and Congress can do that."
Even though overall homicides are slightly down compared to this time last year, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith are facing growing pressure to deal with the wave of shootings, stabbings, carjackings, and robberies in the city.
Some members of Congress are now pointing to Eric's death and the surge in violent crime as reasons to push for repealing the District of Columbia's Home Rule Act, which gives the city a measure of self-governance.
"These two women have to get on the same page and work collaboratively with the federal government if they need assistance to help make Washington D.C. and the District of Columbia safe for the people who live there, work there, and the people who visit from all over the world," Tamara said.
"This is not a political issue. It is a safety issue. If it happened to my son it could happen to anyone. We need to have more police officers at night on the streets. This is a problem in the nation's capital. It should be the safest place in America."
Tarpinian-Jachym was about to start his senior year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he was studying finance and minoring in political science.
