A vigil was held on Saturday afternoon to call for justice in the unsolved murder of a Southeast D.C. man shot and killed while getting medicine for his mother.
D.C. police describe Brandon Gant as an innocent victim of gun violence. There has been no arrest, and his mother wants to make sure his case isn’t forgotten.
Gant was killed in September, a week shy of his 24th birthday.
On Saturday, friends, family and neighbors gathered for a march to the scene on Minnesota Avenue SE.
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“They really, really hurt me. And it’s sad that I have to go through this. And it’s painful, and it hurts,” the victim’s mother, Toloria Gant, said.
Police believe her son may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, caught up in neighborhood crew violence.
This is video of the car detectives believe the shooter was riding in.
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“Justice must be served,” Dajaun Gant, the victim’s brother, said. “It’s unfortunate that we had to have a brother taken away from us. No one should be able to feel this pain.”
Gant was shot while driving his mother’s car on Sept. 6 on Minnesota Avenue SE. He was going to a gas station to get her some allergy medicine because she wasn’t feeling well.
It was 3:30 a.m. He never returned.
Police believe a driver cut him off, and someone got out and shot into Gant’s car.
They suspect Gant, or his vehicle, may have been mistakenly targeted.
“It’s unfortunate that people as young as me have to look at their momma and just see them cry for 24 hours straight, just see them cry,” Jalen Gant, the victim’s brother, said.
When flyers with his photo and a $25,000 reward offer were posted, someone ripped them down. Relatives put up more on Saturday.
Loved ones say Gant was not involved in criminal activity, and they want whoever shot him to be held accountable.
“I just know that my son was a really sweet young man. He didn’t bother no one. He’s really intelligent. He’s quiet. He was loved by so many,” his mother said.
