Hundreds of people congregated in Southeast DC on Saturday to hold a vigil for Carmelo Duncan, the 15-month-old boy shot and killed last week.
The crowd, including Carmelo’s family members, released balloons into the sky, while holding pictures of the late toddler, near the spot where he was killed.
Carmelo was struck by gunfire multiple times and killed while he was in a car with his father and another child in the Marshall Heights neighborhood on the night of December 2.
He has become the youngest person who died due to gun violence in the nation’s capital so far this year, according to DC Police Chief Peter Newsham.
“We are going to make every effort and spend as much time as we need to define the person or persons who are responsible,” said Newsham about the incident.
Last night, 1 y/o Carmelo Duncan lost his life to gun violence in our city. MPD is committed to bringing justice to his family and need your help in identifying those responsible.
Have info? Call (202) 727-9099/text 50411 @ATFWashington@FBIWFO
Release: https://t.co/tDP7ZDGilo pic.twitter.com/JT5LFgPHgF
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) December 3, 2020
DC officials and the FBI are offering a reward of $60,000 to anyone who provides information that could lead to the identification and arrest of the perpetrator.
“There’s simply no words for the sense of outrage that we should all feel at the loss of this beautiful baby boy, Carmelo,” DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said on the tragedy during a press conference last week. “We talk a lot about gun violence each and every day, and the havoc and pain that guns are causing in our city.”
The mayor called for the public’s assistance to arrest and convict the suspect involved in the death of Carmelo in order to bring justice to him and his family.
Those who have information about the case are encouraged to contact the police at 202-727-9099. They can also anonymously send texts to the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) TEXT TIP LINE at 50411.
MPD is suspecting that a dark gray SUV with dark-tinted windows may have been related to the incident.