A Washington, DC, neighborhood has been left stunned and horrified after the death of a 13-year-old Black boy.
Karon Blake was killed by an armed homeowner who believed the teen was trying to break into nearby cars.
Neighbors say they're outraged, and while police have disclosed few details, they have not said that the teenager was armed.
The accused shooter is a government employee, police revealed.
They said he approached Karon with a firearm after he saw him “tampering” with cars. The man apparently went to “further investigate" and walked up to the teen while holding his weapon.
During the interaction, shots were fired. Police came onto the scene at 3:56 a.m. and found Karon seriously wounded. They rushed the child to the hospital, where he died.
There are still so many questions surrounding the teen's death. Officers aren't sure what transpired during the interaction that ended with the use of deadly force. Now residents and local activists are speaking out.
“We are appalled by the way the Metropolitan Police Department and Bowser Administration has handled this killing, and the narrative that property and material values are just as or more valuable than Karon’s life,” Black Swan Academy, a DC group that aims to empower Black youth, said in a statement.
“The violent act that Karon’s killer took is vigilante behavior. It is simply another form of gun violence that youth across the city have continued to fight against. It is the same type of behavior that led to the death of Black people like Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery and Jordan Davis.”
