Taquan Pinkney had a big family. Many friends. And a plan to start college this fall.
But that was taken away from him on Sunday afternoon when he was shot and killed.
Pinkney was coming home after getting a soda at a corner store in Southeast D.C. His mother told News4 that gunfire broke out, and Pinkney ran. He was struck in the back.
Police responded 1:30 p.m. to the 2800 block of Stanton Road, finding Pinkney suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital and later died. He was 18.
"It's sad," Pinkney's mother, Yolanda Pinkney, told News4. "Who gets it... the innocent."
Pinkney was a four-year member of Horton's Kids, a non-profit that provides homework help and tutoring in the neighborhood. The goal is to help kids graduate high school and prepare for college.
Pinkney was a success story: The group posted that he was headed to the University of the District of Columbia this month and had been working at a restaurant to pay his tuition.
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The family hopes the shooter comes forward. D.C. police are investigating as a homicide; There is a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.
