Two young boys have died after they were shot near a convenience store in Northeast D.C. on Tuesday afternoon, according to D.C. police.
One boy, 14-year-old Tyale Coates, was pronounced dead at the scene and a second boy, 12-year-old Mhilo Young, later died at the hospital, police told WTOP on Wednesday.
“Anytime you have children who lose their lives at the other end of a gun, it’s senseless,” Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters Wednesday. “We believe at this time that it was a targeted shooting.”
The shooting happened around 3:27 p.m. Tuesday at the Circle Seven Express convenience store in the 700 block of Kenilworth Avenue, just off D.C. Route 295.
When officers got there, they found the two boys suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Investigators said the two boys were part of a group approached by two suspects who began shooting.
Interim D.C. Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said he believes the shooting appeared to be “interpersonal violence between groups of individuals.”
“Obviously, this is a very tragic situation. Our hearts go out to the families involved in this,” Carroll said. “These young people were just out … here in the neighborhood.”
He added that police are looking for surveillance camera footage to help figure out what happened.
‘Enough is enough’
WTOP’s Scott Gelman spoke with a resident in the Mayfair neighborhood, who voiced her concern about the troubling trend of shooting among young people in the past week, during schools’ spring break vacation.
“We got four total during the spring break. Enough is enough. Fund our children! Invest in them,” Terra Martin said.
“Mayfair has been shut out for so many years. How many more kids have to die over here before we get it?”
Bowser was asked about how the District is addressing youth crime Wednesday.
“Any crime is too much crime,” she said. “You’ve heard me say a number of times that we have to hold our youthful offenders accountable from the what some people think are small crimes like stealing cars to more serious, violent crimes.”
Police are still investigating the shooting and are asking those with any additional information to contact them at 202-727-9099. D.C. Police are currently offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for the shooting.
Several roads in the area were closed as police investigated. All southbound lanes of D.C. 295 were closed at Burroughs Avenue.
Below is a map of where the shooting happened:
WTOP’s Thomas Robertson, Jessica Kronzer, Tadiwos Abedje, Ciara Wells and Scott Gelman contributed to this report.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
