LOCAL CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Youth charged in attempted D.C. carjacking that ended in fatal gunfire
By Peter Hermann
October 31, 2023 at 6:09 p.m. EDT
D.C. police have arrested a 12-year-old boy who they say was involved in an attempted carjacking Saturday in which the alleged victim, an off-duty federal security officer, fatally shot a 13-year-old suspect. ... Police said the 12-year-old was charged as a juvenile with armed carjacking. Because of his age, his name was not released. The youth’s alleged accomplice, identified by authorities as Vernard Toney Jr. of Southeast Washington, was fatally shot in the incident, after which the 12-year-old ran away, police said.
Authorities said the attempted carjacking occurred shortly after 10 p.m. in the 600 block of D Street NW, near the D.C. Superior Court and other judicial and public-safety buildings, in the District’s Penn Quarter neighborhood. ... Police said the youths approached the off-duty officer, who was sitting in his personal vehicle waiting for his shift to start. Police said that the youths demanded his vehicle and that he got out.
A police report says the security officer told detectives that one of the youths “had his hand in his front waistband pocket as if he had a handgun.” The security officer told police he shot one of the youths, according to a report. Police said Vernard Toney was struck in the chest and died at a hospital. Police said they have not recovered a weapon other than the one the security officer used.
It was not immediately clear whether the youth who was shot was the same youth who allegedly had his hand in his pocket. Police said the youth who was not shot was arrested Tuesday. ... Two police officials familiar with Vernard Toney’s criminal history said Monday that the youth had been arrested in May on nine prior carjacking and robbery charges.
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By Peter Hermann
Peter Hermann covers crime for The Washington Post. He previously worked for the Baltimore Sun for 22 years, covering a Baltimore suburb and then the Baltimore Police Department. Twitter
https://twitter.com/phscoop
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