A mother is dead and her young daughter wounded following a shooting in D.C. that set off a search for her 3-year-old son Wednesday evening.
Police identified the woman who was killed in the shooting as 34-year-old Rayven Amuan Edwards, of Northwest. Her 10-year-old daughter was also wounded, according to a news release from D.C. police Thursday.
Three of Edwards’ children were apparently at an apartment complex in the 4100 block of W Street Northwest when she was killed around 4:30 p.m.
She was shot by Stephon Marquis Jeter, 35, of Northwest, according to police. Edwards and Jeter are the parents of the 3-year-old who was temporarily missing and later found safe.
“This is one of the most tragic circumstances I’ve ever seen. An entire family is destroyed through the acts of an individual,” Interim D.C. Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said Wednesday. “Our hearts go out the entire family that’s involved in this.”
Police said Jeter killed himself as police were following his vehicle after the shooting.
Hectic scene unfolds after shooting
Despite efforts from first responders, police said Edwards was pronounced dead at the apartment complex.
Her daughter was shot in the arm. She was taken to the hospital with injuries not believed to be life threatening. Police initially identified the girl as being 12 years old, but later said she’s 10 years old.
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Edwards’ older son, an 8-year-old boy, was found at the apartment complex uninjured. He was reunited with his father.
A hectic scene unfolded in the hours after the shooting as police searched for Jeter, who police said left the scene in his truck with the pair’s toddler in tow.
Jeter’s black pickup truck was spotted by officers in Prince George’s County, Maryland, at around 6:30 p.m.
Police from both jurisdictions followed Jeter into D.C. He crashed at 30th Street and Nash Place in Southeast, according to police.
Officers said they found Jeter dead inside his truck in an apparent suicide. His 3-year-old son was not in the vehicle. D.C. police issued an Amber Alert for the child before he was found at a family member’s home in Prince George’s County.
Police said the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will look into Jeter’s cause and manner of death.
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