A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed in Southeast D.C. Wednesday night, just after leaving a high school basketball game.
Patroling officers heard gunshots around 8:30 p.m. in the 3100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE. Philip Jones was pronounced dead on the scene, and a girl he was with was shot in the hand. She's supposed to make a full recovery.
The scene following the shooting was chaotic, with dozens gathering as police conducted their investigation and searched for suspects. Many had just attended the Ballou High School basketball game against rival Anacostia High School.
Trayon White, who is running for a Ward 8 council seat, was with Jones that night.
"I don't know [the motive for the shooting], but I know it's senseless any time you take a young man's life after a basketball game over nothing," White said. "I just left him five minutes, it couldn't have been too much that happened that fast."
Jones attended Anacostia High School last year, and was getting ready to start job corps training this year.
"He was a good young man. No one is perfect, but he wasn't on the bad path, he stayed out of trouble," White said.
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Just last weekend, 17-year-old Andrew Newman was shot and killed during a barrage of gunfire while on his way out of a house party in Northeast.
"As far as I know, young guys do it to themselves, it's very [sad]," a Southeast neighbor said.
Police are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for anyone with information that leads to an arrest.
Anyone with information is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099.
