Skip to main content

‘Bright and accomplished’ Howard University student dies after being hit by car on campus

A Howard University student has died after he was struck last week by a car reportedly driven by a faculty member. Mohamed Samura, 18, died Monday after being struck on Thursday, while he was walking on the D.C. campus, police said. The driver, who has not been identified, was traveling northbound on 6th Street from Howard Place at a “high rate of speed” just before 4 p.m., police said. The driver then tried to turn left at the intersection on Fairmont and 6th streets, mounted a curb and struck Samura. He was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, while the driver of the striking vehicle was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The university’s campus newspaper, The Hilltop, reported the driver was a faculty member.

X

To view this content from @dcfireems on X, click here.

Samura, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, was a computer information systems major at the university. In a statement, Howard University described him as a “bright and accomplished” student, who made the dean’s list and demonstrated great skills as a member of the school’s award-winning Esports Team. On Monday, the university held a vigil on campus and his classmates and teachers came out to remember Samura. English professor Nico Penaranda told 7News that Samura was someone he relied on in class. “He really blossomed, he really engaged. I often looked to him for answers,” Penaranda said. Classmate Yasmine Ogbe said she it was “weird” that Samura was “just gone.” “I literally saw him last Wednesday in class,” she told 7News. D.C. police are still investigating what happened and ask anyone with information to call them at 202-727-9099.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Justice Department pardon lawyer who says she was fired in dispute over Mel Gibson’s gun rights sues

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Justice Department pardon attorney who says she was fired after she refused to recommend the restoration of actor Mel Gibson's gun rights sued Thursday over her termination, calling it illegal punishment for her unwillingness to grant a “political favor” to a friend of President Donald Trump. Liz Oyer says in her lawsuit that her March 2025 firing came after she declined a request from the staff of then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to add Gibson to a list of individuals for whom the Justice Department would recommend the reinstatement of their gun rights. Oyer says she objected for public safety reasons given Gibson's prior domestic violence conviction that had resulted in the loss of his gun privileges. The lawsuit says that hours after she drafted a memo conveying her concerns, a colleague pulled her out of a meeting and Justice Department security officers handed her a termination letter, instructed her to pack her belongings and escorted her from the building. Blanche has denied Oyer's account of the basis for her termination, saying at his Senate confirmation hearing last month for the attorney general position that he now holds: “I didn’t even know of that. I had known nothing about Mel Gibson or that letter when I fired her. Nothing.”
Read Next Story