Brian Curtis Scott | Homicide Watch DC

Not An Ordinary Murder: Brian Scott's Death One Year Later

Gary Harki — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 15:00:04 -0500

Brian Scott in Facebook memorial

Brian Curtis Scott’s two-year-old daughter Aleia can’t talk to her father, so she talks to a picture of Jesus instead.

The image, which portrays Jesus as black, hangs in Scott’s mother's living room. Brian Scott became the first DC murder victim in 2011 when he was gunned down in Southeast DC on January 2.

"She says that’s her daddy because he has dread locks in his hair," Scott's mother, Bonnie, said of the photo. "Just like Brian."

Scott was the first of 27 black men and teenagers killed before their 22nd birthdays in Washington, DC, in 2011. From the point of cold, unfeeling statistics, Scott’s murder is indicative of the majority of the 108 violent deaths in DC this year. There were 84 black males killed in D.C. in 2011. Scott is one of the 77 shooting deaths in the city. He is one of 53 cases where police have yet to name a suspect.

But tell that to his mother and she’ll wave it off. Scott wasn’t running around on the streets when he was gunned down at 13th Place and Congress Street SE, a corner where at least 17 people have lost their lives in the past decade. He wasn’t just another statistic.

It was about 7 a.m. and he was at 13th Place and Congress Street SE to pick up his cousin, Tavon Bell. Someone rolled up in an SUV and shot both of them. Scott died. Bell lived.

"Whatever happened that day, if it was mistaken identity, whatever, it was not meant for my son," Bonnie said. "But it was clearly his time to go. I know God took him with no pain."

Bonnie says she talks to the detectives working her son’s case frequently. If she doesn’t call them, they call her.

"I told her (the detective) you do your best. My prayers are with you. But nothing is going to bring my son back, I’m not going to call and harass her," Bonnie said. "And vengeance isn’t mine, it’s the Lord’s. ... I think it’s hard for her. I think it’s more frustrating for her than myself."

The detectives tell her that they know who did it, but that they’re waiting on more evidence to make an arrest. There were people who witnessed what happened that morning, but they’re not talking to the police.

Bonnie said she works at an area prison and she knows how and why people become witnesses in murder cases.

"Most people who tell have something to gain. They don’t tell to be a good Samaritan," she said. "They don’t do that until it hits home with them."

Bonnie Scott was brought up in the area of Southeast DC where Brian was killed. But she left it for Marlboro, Md. when Brian and his sister were babies.

"There were gun wars back and forth," she said of her old neighborhood. "They used to wail to the gun shots."

As a young adult, Brian had been incarcerated, but he was determined to get his GED and lead a productive life, Bonnie said. "In prison he found a strong relationship with Jesus Christ," she said. "My son had a positive impact on so many lives. ... He was not in the mist of drama but it was clearly his time to go."

She said that detectives have told her that, while they can’t elaborate, they believe her son died for no reason. If or when someone is arrested for Brian’s murder, Bonnie knows it won’t make things any easier.

"I was brought up in that area. I am going to know the parent whose child killed my son," she said.

WaPo: "Sometimes you can save everybody else's child but your own."

Laura Amico — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 11:01:12 -0400

WaPo's Avis Thomas-Lester today looks at the intersection at 13th Place and Congress Street SE, an intersection where 17 people have been killed in violent crime in the past decade.

Writes Thomas-Lester:

The two Southeast Washington women met in the 1970s as activists in their Anacostia neighborhoods. Their friendship grew as they pushed for better schools, programs for teenagers and more jobs. Together, they went into crack houses, coaxing addicts to return home to their families.

One woman, former D.C. Council member Sandy Allen, 67, turned to politics to help her community. The other, the Rev. Joyce Scott, 58, turned to faith.

Early on Jan. 2, tragedy brought them even closer. Scott’s grandson, Brian C. Scott, 21, was gunned down at 13th Place and Congress Street SE, becoming the city’s first homicide victim of 2011.

Five years earlier, Allen’s grandson, Jon Allen Jr., 15, was fatally shot on the same corner.

For the two grandmothers, the corner in the Congress Park neighborhood has become a shared reminder of personal loss. For the city, it is a grim symbol of the gun violence that has shattered so many families. Over the past decade, 17 people have been slain within a few yards of the intersection. The most recent was Ra-Heem Jackson, a 16-year-old basketball standout at H.D. Woodson High School who was shot April 7.

Six weeks ago, Scott forced herself to return to the corner. It was the first time she’d been back since Brian Scott was killed and another grandson, Tavon Bell, 21, was critically wounded.

With a microphone and a Bible, Scott brought out her church members, friends and as many residents as she could find for an anti-violence rally. They were there, she told the crowd, to “proclaim this street for peace.”

Sandy Allen was beside her.

“Sometimes you can save everybody else’s child but your own,” Scott said.

Read the whole story here.

Funeral Tuesday for Shooting Victim Brian Scott

Laura Amico — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:26:43 -0500

A funeral is planned for Tuesday, Jan 11 for Brian Scott, who was was shot to death in Southeast D.C. on Sunday, Jan. 2.

Scott was 21 years old.

According to his obituary, Scott is survived by his daughter, Ailea Scott, his parents, Bonnie Scott and Eric Waddy, and other family and friends.

In an online memorial, Artesia Robinson of Upper Marlboro, Md wrote:

My Nephew I love you and will miss you daily. I hold in my heart all the memories of you from birth until you were called home. Keep an eye on your Aunt Tisha. Sister I love you I'm here for you. As you have been doing continue to lean on God for your strength we will get through this with Gods help. Love you!!!

According to the obituary, Scott's family:

will receive friends on Tuesday, January 11, from 10 a.m. until time of service 12 noon at Temple of Praise, 700 Southern Ave.

Metro Police Release Information on Shooting Death of Brian Scott

Laura Amico — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:09:30 -0500

Metro Police have released the following information about the shooting death of Brian Scott:

January 3, 2011
Homicide at 13th Place and Congress Street, SE
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch are investigating a fatal shooting which occurred at 13th Place and Congress Street, SE.

On Sunday, January 2, 2011, at approximately 7:00 am, units from the Seventh District responded to 13th Place and Congress Street, SE for the sounds of gunshots. Upon their arrival on the scene, they located three victims suffering from gunshot wounds. All three subjects were transported to local hospitals where one of the victims succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

The decedent is identified as 21 year-old Brian Curtis Scott of Upper Marlboro, MD.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at (202) 727-9099 or 1-888-919-CRIME (1-888-919-2746).

The Metropolitan Police Department currently offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons wanted for any homicide committed in the District of Columbia.

Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to DC CRIME SOLVERS at 1-866-411-TIPS and to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411. If the information provided by the caller to the Crime Solvers Unit leads to an arrest and indictment, that caller will be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Brian Scott

Laura Amico — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 21:10:36 -0500

Brian Scott in Facebook memorial

Victim: Brian C. Scott
Age: 21
Birthdate: unknown
Date of Death: Jan. 2, 2011
Residence: Upper Marlboro, Md.
Education: Crossland Senior High, class of 2008
Memorials: Facebook
Obituary:
Funeral/ Memorial:

News coverage:

District Police Respond to First Fatal Shootings of the Year

The Afro-American Newspapers | Jan 4, 2011

D. C. police have recorded their first homicides of the new year. As of early this week, the homicide division of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) was still investigating the fatal shooting 16-year-old Bryant Morillo, which occurred Jan. 2 in the 4500 block of New Hampshire, N.W. Morillo lived in Hyattsville, Md.

Add your memories in the comments below.