D.C. police announced Wednesday they’ve arrested a 17-year-old in connection with the August shooting of Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. Police Chief Robert Contee said the teen was arrested in Northeast D.C. earlier Wednesday.
Contee credited tips from the public with identifying the teen, who was 16 at the time of the shooting. “This is another case of a juvenile with an illegal gun,” Contee said during a news conference Wednesday. “And we continue to see this over and over and over again across our city. Enough is enough. We have to keep guns out of the hands of the youth in our city. And we must hold people accountable for their actions when they turn to violence.” Robinson, a Commanders rookie, was shot twice in the leg in what police described as an attempted carjacking at 10th and H streets in Northeast D.C. at about 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 28 Two of the suspects brandished guns and attempted to steal Robinson’s Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, fired two shots and then jumped back into another car and fled the area, according to police. The teen arrested Wednesday was charged with assault with intent to rob while armed with a gun. He was not identified. Contee said police don’t believe any of the suspects knew who Robinson was at the time of the shooting. Police are still seeking two other people in connection with the shooting: the other person with a gun seen at the scene and the person Contee described as the driver of a getaway car. “Today’s arrest is an example of what happens when the community steps up to share information, and we need the community to do that again with these two other suspects,” Contee said. Police released a surveillance video footage of the other suspect:
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Contee also cited the department’s partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which provides ballistics analysis. “Violent crimes get solved because of good police work, community involvement and science. All three of those things happened in this case,” the chief said. Contee said arrests of juveniles are up over 12% this year, which equates to about 900 arrests of juveniles this year. “That’s a very alarming number.” Robinson, the third-round pick from last April’s draft was hospitalized and missed the beginning of the season. He was medically cleared to return to practice Oct. 3 and made his NFL debut Oct. 9. “I really can’t explain the feeling of getting back out on the field,” Robinson said at the time. “Today everything finally came to the light, and I’m just so blessed to be back out there.”
Arrest also made in earlier shooting
Police also announced an arrest in a shooting earlier in the summer that left two men dead. Beysean Jones, 27, of District Heights, Maryland, has been charged with first-degree murder while armed in the shooting deaths of 19-year-old Ronald Brown, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, and 41-year-old Tijuan Wilson, of Southeast D.C. Both men were killed — and another man and woman were wounded — in the July 27 shooting in the 4300 block of Fourth Street in Southeast. Leslie Parsons, assistant chief of the Investigative Services Bureau for the D.C. police, said the woman who was shot “has been released from the hospital but does have a long road to recovery in front of her.” At the time, police said a group had gathered in parking lot to hang out when a vehicle pulled in and a gunman began firing on the group. More than 90 cartridge casings were recovered from the scene, police said. WTOP’s Rick Massimo and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
