Two Teens Charged with Murder in Connection With Drive-By Shooting of Congressional Intern

Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with the murder of a young Capitol Hill intern who was shot a mile from the White House earlier this summer.

On June 30, UMass Amherst rising senior Eric Tarpinian-Jachym was gunned down in a drive-by shooting at about 10:28 p.m. near the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in downtown Washington D.C, the Metropolitan Police Department said.

Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, was working for the summer as a legislative intern in the office of Republican Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas, according to his obituary. He died on July 1.

“He was hit four times,” Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said at a press conference on Friday, Sept. 5.

A 16-year-old boy and an adult female were injured in the shooting.

After a two-month investigation, Pirro announced that Jalen Lucas and Kelvin Thomas Jr., both 17, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the killing.

The teens will be prosecuted as adults, she said. Authorities are searching for a third suspect, she said.

Calling Tarpinian-Jachym “an innocent bystander,” she said, “His death is a stark reminder of how fragile life is and how violence too often visits us in the nation’s capital.”

She said she believes the shooting was the result of an ongoing “dispute” between rival gangs in D.C. and that Tarpinian-Jachym was not the target.

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In a statement on Wednesday, July 2, Rep. Estes said, “I will remember his kind heart and how he always greeted anyone who entered our office with a cheerful smile.

“We are grateful to Eric for his service to Kansas’ 4th District and the country.”

It is unclear whether the two teens have retained attorneys who can speak on their behalf.