A D.C. police vehicle

Photo by Tony Hisgett / Flickr

An 11-year-old boy was shot and killed on the 2700 block of Naylor Road Southeast on Thursday evening, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Karon Brown, who had recently graduated from Stanton Elementary School, was targeted in a shooting in front of the school after a confrontation with other children and adults, reports WUSA9.

Police officers responded to the area at around 7 p.m. on Thursday evening to a call about gunshots, according to MPD. During the investigation, officers were notified that a child had been taken to a nearby fire station, where he was then transported to a local hospital and later pronounced dead.

Brown was reportedly part of a conflict with a group of people near his school, and a bystander picked Brown up and put him into a car, WUSA9 reports. One of the men involved in the dispute followed the bystander and Brown, and shot into the vehicle, per the outlet.

Police are identifying the suspect as a black male between 20 and 30 years old. He can be seen in surveillance photos below.

Police said about five people were involved in the fight, some adults in their 20s or 30s, and others children, possibly as young as Brown himself.

Brown’s death comes just one year and two days after the shooting death of Makiyah Wilson, a 10-year-old girl who was hit by gunfire after a group of men fired into a courtyard near where she lived. It also comes on the heels of several other shootings near schools in the District, including two near Hendley Elementary School in Southeast and several more near schools in Columbia Heights.

Several city officials have expressed their condolences and outrage over Brown’s death on Friday, including Ward 6 Councilmember and chair of the public safety committee, Charles Allen. “The killing of Karon not only takes his young life, but rips a hole in our community,” Allen wrote.

Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White wrote on Instagram, “We have work to do. Y’all killing the babies…smh.”

In a letter to Stanton parents on Thursday, Principal Harold McCray confirmed Brown’s death, and offered resources for parents to help tell their children the news. “Karon’s death is a devastating loss, and it is sure to raise many emotions, concerns, and questions from our entire school, especially our students,” the letter reads. “I am reaching out to let you know that we are here for families who need support through this tragedy.”

There have so far been 88 homicides in the District this year, a 7 percent increase over last year.

Filed Under: d.c. police, gun violence, mpd,