Osman Al-Akbar | Homicide Watch DC

Rashid Caviness-Bey Sentenced to 27 Years for Osman Al-Akbar Murder

Penny Ray — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 12:55:22 -0400

Judge Lynn Leibovitz sentenced Rashid Caviness-Bey Friday to 27 years in prison in connection with the shooting death of 19-year-old Osman Al-Akbar.

Al-Akbar's mother, Abdul Al-Akbar, spoke at the sentencing hearing and said that her son's death occurred four months before he was set to graduate from the Building for the Future Academy. His goals, she said, were to attend college at Virginia State and play basketball.

“My son was my heart,” Abdul Al-Akbar said.

Osman Al-Akbar was shot and killed in the 2600 block of University Place Northwest around 1:30 a.m. August 17, 2011. He suffered four gunshot wounds: three to the back and one to the face.

Caviness-Bey was convicted in June of second-degree murder and a related weapons offense in connection with Al-Akbar's death.

“The murder in this case, in my view, was not a spontaneous event,” Judge Leibovitz said Friday before reading the sentencing terms. “This was a serious, unprovoked shooting of an unarmed person.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana Fulton said Friday the government maintains that Al-Akbar's death was the result of a “botched armed robbery.”

“If it wasn't a robbery, it makes the situation worse,” Fulton said.

A witness testified at trial that while looking out his kitchen window he saw three black males with “braids and dreadlocks” walk toward the scene of the crime with “scarves” wrapped around their heads; one of the men was adjusting a pistol in his front waistband. Moments later, the witness heard four gunshots. Two of the men then fled the scene and hid in an alley off Fuller Street NW. Along the way, the suspects tossed some clothing in a nearby trashcan, the witness said.

When police officers searched the scene they found Caviness-Bey and a juvenile suspect hiding in a nearby alley. Police also found a revolver and a semiautomatic handgun hidden underneath a rat trap at the top of a stairway near the alley.

Police were unable to match fingerprints and DNA recovered from the scene to either of the suspects, but a black vinyl jacket found in the alley was positively attributed to Caviness-Bey.

Sentencing documents will be added to this post.

Caviness-Bey Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder in Killing of Osman Al-Akbar

Megan Arellano — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 19:07:12 -0400

A jury found Rashid Caviness-Bey guilty Monday of second-degree murder in connection with the 2011 shooting death of 19-year-old Osman Al-Akbar.

Jurors deliberated for two days before announcing their verdict around 4:20 p.m. Monday. Caviness-Bey was charged with first-degree premeditated murder and felony murder; second-degree murder is a lesser charge. He was also found guilty of carrying a pistol without a license.

In the early morning hours of August 17, 2011, Al-Akbar was shot and killed in the 2600 block of University Place Northwest; he suffered four gunshot wounds: three “independently survivable” wounds to the back and one wound to the face.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana Fulton argued at trial that Caviness-Bey and two others had planned to rob Al-Akbar, and that the fatal shooting was the tragic consequence. Caviness-Bey's defense attorneys maintained, though, that his presence near the crime scene at the time of the murder was a coincidence.

Metropolitan Police discovered Caviness-Bey and a juvenile suspect hiding in a nearby alley after arriving at the crime scene and searching the area; two firearms and several articles of clothing were recovered in the same alley. Forensic testing later matched Caviness-Bey to a black vinyl jacket found at the scene.

Fingerprints and DNA recovered from the scene could not be matched to Caviness-Bey.

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office is below.

District Man Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder While Armed In 2011 Slaying in Northwest Washington -Victim, 19, Was Shot Four Times in an Attempted Robbery-

WASHINGTON – Rashid Caviness-Bey, 20, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury today of charges stemming from a murder that took place during an attempted armed robbery in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

Caviness-Bey was found guilty by a jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia of charges of second-degree murder while armed and carrying a pistol without a license in the slaying of 19-year old Osman Al-Akbar. The Honorable Lynn Leibovitz scheduled sentencing for Aug. 2, 2013.

According to the government’s evidence, on Aug. 17, 2011, at about 1:30 a.m., Mr. Al-Akbar bicycled toward his home after visiting his girlfriend’s house. As he was riding home, he talked on his cell phone with his girlfriend. At the same time, Caviness-Bey and two teenagers emerged from Girard Park near the 2600 block of University Place NW. They carried two guns and dressed in a manner to conceal themselves.

Mr. Al-Akbar encountered Caviness-Bey and the two teenagers in the 2600 block of University Place NW, where they tried to rob him. During the encounter, Mr. Al-Akbar was shot three times in the back. After he fell to the street, dying, he was shot a fourth time in the face with a second gun. Mr. Al-Akbar died in the street next to his bicycle and personal belongings, which were scattered around him.

Caviness-Bey and the teenagers fled after the shooting. One of the teenagers and Caviness-Bey fled into a dead-end alley behind an apartment building at the corner of 15th and Fuller Streets NW. Along the way, witnesses saw them discard the clothing they had worn to conceal themselves during the robbery. One of the witnesses also spotted them with a gun. The witness alerted the police to the alley that Caviness-Bey and the teenager ran into. The police found Caviness-Bey and the teenager hiding at the bottom of a basement stairwell. Nearby, the police found the two guns used to kill Mr. Al-Akbar. The police also found the discarded clothing in the alley and in the trash receptacles near the alley.

In announcing the guilty verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives of the Criminal Investigations Division, crime scene officers, and the Third Police District of the Metropolitan Police Department, and the U.S. Park Police. He also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Ortwein (now with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan), who secured the indictment in the case; Criminal Investigator Durand Odom; Jelahn Stewart, Michael Hailey, David Foster, Marcia Rinker, Melissa Milam, and Christina Principe, all of the Victim Witness Assistance Unit; Kimberly Smith, William Henderson, and Leif Hickling of the Litigation Technology Unit, Paralegal Specialists Marian Russell and Ethel Noble; the supervisors of the Appellate Division; and Librarian Lisa Kosow. Finally, he praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana L. Fulton who tried the case.

Closing Arguments Heard in Rashid Caviness-Bey Murder Trial

Penny Ray — Thu, 30 May 2013 17:53:58 -0400

Prosecutors in the murder trial of Rashid Caviness-Bey say that Osman Al-Akbar's death was the result of a robbery gone awry, which Caviness-Bey and two others planned together. Defense attorneys say, though, that Caviness-Bey had nothing to do with the attempted robbery, and that his presence near the crime scene on the morning of the murder was a mere coincidence.

These were the closing arguments jurors heard Thursday afternoon.

Caviness-Bey is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, armed robbery and related weapons offenses in connection with the August 2011 shooting death of 19-year-old Osman Al-Akbar.

Al-Akbar was shot and killed in the 2600 block of University Place Northwest around 1:30 a.m. August 17, 2011. A medical examiner testified at trial that Al-Akbar suffered four gunshot wounds: three “independently survivable” wounds to the back, and one wound to the face. The face wound contained small gunpowder abrasions consistent with a gun being fired within two to three feet.

One witness testified at trial that while looking out his kitchen window he saw three black males with "braids and dreadlocks" walk toward the scene of the crime with “scarves” wrapped around their heads; one of the men was adjusting a pistol in his front waistband. Moments later, the witness heard four gunshots. Two of the men then fled the scene and hid in an alley off Fuller Street NW. Along the way, the suspects tossed some clothing in a nearby trashcan, the witness testified.

Thomas Sullivan of the Metropolitan Police Department testified that after arriving at the crime scene, he and three other police officers searched the area and found Caviness-Bey and a juvenile suspect hiding in a nearby alley. Upon being questioned, Caviness-Bey told police a fake name, Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana Fulton told the court Thursday.

“Why would you do that, if you had nothing to do with what happened?” Fulton said during closing arguments. “The defendant was part of the attempted armed robbery, whether he wanted Al-Akbar dead or not.”

The officers also found a revolver and a semiautomatic handgun hidden underneath a rat trap at the top of a stairway near the alley where Caviness-Bey and the juvenile were hiding.

MPD investigators were unable to match fingerprints and DNA recovered from the scene to either of the suspects, but a black vinyl jacket found in the alley was positively attributed to Caviness-Bey.

Arthur Ago, Caviness-Bey's defense attorney, argued Thursday that the government's theory was speculative, and that the jacket provided no evidence that an armed robbery took place or that Caviness-Bey was involved in Al-Akbar's murder.

“The government is asking you to take a leap of faith,” Ago told the jury. “You have to demand more from the government as to what happened on that block.”

Jury deliberations will resume Friday morning.

Megan Arellano and Ivan Natividad contributed reporting.

Teen, not Rashid Caviness-Bey, Guilty in Death of Osman Al-Akbar, Attorney says at Opening of Trial

Ivan Natividad — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:22:08 -0400

As detectives tell it, when then-19-year-old Rashid Caviness-Bey was waiting for police to interview him about the shooting death of Osman Al-Akbar, a shooting detectives believed he was involved in, Caviness-Bey yelled out to a teen one room over.

“Cop to that junt,” Caviness-Bey yelled out to the 15-year-old, encouraging the younger suspect to take the full weight of the murder.

On Tuesday, nearly a year and ten months later, Cavines-Bey stood trial, charged with felony murder for Al-Akbar's death. His attorney, Mani Golzari pinned blame on that 15-year-old and said Caviness-Bey, now 20, is innocent.

“Mr. Caviness-Bey had nothing to do with this crime," Golzari said. “With the evidence in this case you are going to learn that [DH] committed this murder. Mr. Caviness-Bey was stopped a couple blocks away just minutes after the shooting. No blood, no gunpowder was found on his person.”

Though the name of a teen arrested in connection with the case was used in open court Tuesday, Homicide Watch DC is not publishing the teen's name because it was not immediately clear what the status of his case is. Reporters were not allowed in the courtroom to report on his hearing in August 2011.

In February 2012 that same teen told the government that he, and not Caviness-Bey, shot and killed Al-Akbar.

According to police reports, Al-Akbar was 19 years old when he was found dead in Columbia Height’s near Girard Park. He had been shot four times, three times in the back and once in the face.

Shots were heard around 1 a.m., and three assailants were seen standing over Al-Akbar’s body in the street. One of the assailants shot Al-Akbar in the face, before running away with the rest.

On Tuesday, US Attorney Shana Fulton showed pictures of Al-Akbar’s cell phone and two of his silver rings which were found near his body, evidence that Al-Akbar had been the subject of a robbery attempt. Caviness-Bey was part of that plot, she said.

“He was part of the whole thing,” Fulton said. “He was involved, he participated, he aided and abated the attempted robbery, and the shooting.”

In a tearful testimony Tuesday, Tion Shafer, Al-Akbar's girlfriend, said that Al-Akbar was on the phone with her moments before he was murdered, talking to her about shopping for clothes online.

He was riding his bike to a gas station after trying to meet up with her when he was shot.

“I heard wind,” Shafer said. “I kept calling his name, and he didn’t say anything. Then the call dropped.”

The trial is scheduled to continue Wednesday.

May 29, 2013: This article has been corrected to reflect that Mr. Mani Golzari said the defendant was stopped after the shooting. An additional statement attributed to Golzari, about a juvenile suspect, was misquoted and has been removed.

Charges Dismissed in Case Against Malachi Hargrove

Jonah Newman — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:28:40 -0500

All charges against Malachi Hargrove, who had been indicted by a grand jury in connection with the armed robbery and murder of Osman Al-Akbar, have been dropped.

Hargrove was released from custody on Nov. 16. He had turned himself into police in April.

Two other men who were arrested shortly after the killing, which took place near Meridian Hill Park in Columbia Heights in August 2011, are still suspected in the case.

Rashid Caviness-Bey has been indicted on armed robbery, murder and related weapons charges. A juvenile male has also been charged in connection with the murder, which police believe was the result of a failed robbery attempt.

In January, the government revealed that the juvenile suspect had told police that he, not Caviness-Bey, was responsible for the killing. According to police, the two had a "lengthy conversation" while they were waiting in adjacent interview rooms, during which each asked the other to "cop" to the crime.

Charging documents for Caviness-Bey mentioned a third suspect, but Hargrove's name was not mentioned.

Hargrove's attorney, Sharon Burka, could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment on Hargrove's release because the case against Caviness-Bey is still ongoing. A jury trial for Caviness-Bey is scheduled to begin on Jan. 22.

Men Indicted in Columbia Heights Shooting Plead Innocent to Robbery, Murder Charges

Laura Amico — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:29:20 -0400

Two DC men accused of robbing and shooting down Osman Al-Akbar near Meridian Hill Park in Aug. 2011 have each pleaded innocent to the charges against them.

Rashid Caviness-Bey and Malachi Hargrove, were indicted by the Grand Jury earlier this month on charges of armed robbery, first-degree murder, and felony murder, in addition to weapons violations.

Caviness-Bey, who has been in custody since the shooting, entered his plea last week on April 5.

Hargrove, who turned himself in to police Monday, entered his plea Wednesday.

The Washington Times reported yesterday that Caviness-Bey, Hargrove, and Al-Akbar are all connected in some way to the District's Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. A third suspect, who was a juvenile at the time of his arrest, is also connected to DYRS, the Times reported.

Caviness-Bey and Hargrove are due back in court May 11 for a status hearing. A trial has tentatively been scheduled for January 22, 2013.

Read the indictment below.

Malachi Hansan Hargrove Arrested in Columbia Heights Shooting Death of Osman Al-Akbar

Laura Amico — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:21:26 -0400

An 18-year-old Northeast DC man turned himself into MPD Monday on a charge of first-degree murder.

In a press release Tuesday, MPD said the man, Malachi Hansan Hargrove, is suspected in the shooting death of 19-year-old Osman Al-Akbar. Al-Akbar was killed near Meridian Hill Park in August 2011.

Two others, in addition to Hargrove, are suspected in the case: an unidentified juvenile who was 15-years-old when he was arrested shortly after the shooting, and 19-year-old Rashid Caviness-Bey.

The juvenile has told authorities that he, not Caviness-Bey, shot and killed Al-Akbar. He said he and Caviness-Bey separated while walking down University Place in Columbia Heights the night Al-Akbar was killed. The juvenile did not tell Caviness-Bey what he was going to do, did not tell Caviness-Bey that he intended to commit a robbery, and did not know where Caviness-Bey was when he attempted to rob Al-Akbar.

According to charging documents in the case, Caviness-Bey and the juvenile had a “lengthy” conversation about the charges they were facing while being held in separate interrogation rooms before their arrests. According to the charging documents, Caviness-Bey encouraged the juvenile to tell authorities that the shooting was in self-defense.

Hargrove is expected to be presented with the charge at DC Superior Court Tuesday afternoon. Caviness-Bey was arraigned last week on a charge of felony murder, a charge of first-degree murder, a charge of robbery, and weapons offenses. He pled innocent to the charges and a status hearing is set for May.

MPD's press release is below.

April 10, 2012

Additional Arrest Made in the Homicide in the 2600 Block of University Place, NW

(Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch have announced that a third arrest has been made in the fatal shooting which occurred in the 2600 block of University Place, N.W.

On Wednesday, August 17, 2011, at approximately 1:39 am, units from the Third District responded to the 2600 block of University Place, N.W, to investigate the report of sounds of gunshots. Upon their arrival, they observed a male lying in the street suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to the scene and determined that the victim had no signs consistent with life. Subsequently, the victim was pronounced dead by a member of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The decedent has been identified as 19-year-old Osman Al-Akbar of Northwest, DC.

Shortly after the shooting, Third District officers stopped two suspects in connection with the homicide. After further investigation by detectives from the Homicide Branch, a 19-year-old male of Northwest, and a 15-year old male of Capitol Heights, MD, were charged with First Degree Felony Murder while Armed and Carrying a Pistol Without a License.

On Monday, April 9, 2012 at approximately 11:15 am, 18-year-old Malachi Hansan Hargrove of Northeast, Washington, DC, turned himself in to detectives of the Homicide Branch. He was arrested and charged with First Degree Murder in the homicide of Osman Al-Akbar.

Juvenile Murder Suspect Told Authorities he was Responsible for Columbia Heights Killing

Laura Amico — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:37:33 -0500

A juvenile murder suspect has told the government that he, not Rashid Caviness-Bey, shot and killed 19-year-old Osman Al-Akbar near Meridian Hill Park in August.

According to a discovery letter filed at DC Superior Court in January, the juvenile told authorities that he and Caviness-Bey separated while walking down University Place the night Al-Akbar was killed. The juvenile did not tell Caviness-Bey what he was going to do, did not tell Caviness-Bey that he intended to commit a robbery, and did not know where Caviness-Bey was when he attempted to rob Al-Akbar.

The juvenile said he used two guns, shooting Al-Akbar with each, then ran over to Fuller Street to meet up with Caviness-Bey again.

According to charging documents in the case, Caviness-Bey and the juvenile, who has not been identified because of his age (he was 15 years old when he was arrested in August), had a “lengthy” conversation about the charges they were facing while being held in separate interrogation rooms before their arrests.

Said the juvenile:

On some real shit cuz. We all men. We can all go down for it and that don’t make sense. All of us could have been in for one junt and that don’t make no sense. I got too much going on.

Replied Caviness-Bey:

They was hitting us first.

Said the juvenile:

What’s that mean?

Said Caviness-Bey:

Hey, we was protecting ourselves man.

Said the juvenile:

Say what?

Said Caviness-Bey:

We was protecting ourselves.

Said the juvenile:

That’s ain’t gonna work. We gonna get burnt fucking around with that shit. Cuz, all of us in the same boat. If you cop, most they gonna give you is like 10. That’s better than 50.

Caviness-Bey is due in court for a status hearing on Feb. 10. He has not yet been indicted in the case.

Rashid Caviness-Bey held on Felony Murder Charge in Death of Teen Osman Al-Akbar

Laura Amico — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:10:08 -0400

The shooting death of 19-year-old Osman Al-Akbar in Columbia Heights was a robbery "gone bad," according to the government's evidence, but the defense attorney for one of the teens accused in the murder doesn't buy that.

True, when Al-Akbar's body was found in Columbia Heights on Aug. 17, he was without his wallet, but a family member had his wallet, defense attorney Arthur Ago said. And what Al-Akbar had of value, two rings and a cell phone, were found near his body.

"There is no indication that there was an attempted robbery," Ago said, fighting the government's assertion that because Al-Akbar wasn't wearing his rings it must mean that he was robbed.

Offered the prosecutor, Michael Ortwein, "he didn't have money. He didn't have his wallet."

So when he was robbed, Ortwein said, "he offered up his rings."

At a preliminary hearing Friday, attorneys on both sides squared off on the motive behind Al-Akbar's death. If a felony robbery was not the underlying motive in the young man's death, then prosecutors could not charge Rashid Caviness-Bey with felony murder and would have to seek a different charge.

According to charging documents in the case, at about 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 17, an off-duty MPD officer heard several gunshots coming from the direction of the 2600 block of University Place. The officer walked in that direction and, in that block, saw two people standing on sidewalk and one person standing in the street. As the officer watched, the person in the street extended its arm downward and the officer heard a gunshot and saw a muzzle flash.

Al-Akbar was found suffering from gunshot wounds to his torso and head in the 2600 block of University Place NW. He died at the scene.

Two people matching the off-duty officer's descriptions of suspects, now identified as Caviness-Bey and a 15-year-old juvenile, were found lying on the ground underneath a staircase near 15th and Fuller streets Northwest. Near the staircase, investigators found a gun that smelled as though it had been recently fired.

The juvenile is awaiting trial in juvenile court. On Friday Judge Thomas Motley ordered Caviness-Bey held on the charge of felony murder.

Juvenile Suspect in Columbia Heights Killing Held

Laura Amico — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:41:51 -0400

A 15-year-old DC boy suspected in the shooting death of Osman Al-Akbar was ordered held today by a juvenile court judge following a preliminary hearing in the case. A trial date of Sept. 29 was set, court officials said.

The boy has not been identified because he is charged as a juvenile.

Another teen, 19-year-old Rashid Caviness-Bey, is due in court Sept. 9 for a preliminary hearing in the case.

Al-Akbar, known to friends as "Ark," was 19 years old when he was shot and killed on Aug. 17 near Meridian Hill Park.

MPD Evidence Shows Columbia Heights Murder Suspects Each Asking the Other to "Cop" to the Crime

Laura Amico — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:32:18 -0400

The detectives had left, but videotapes and audiotapes were still rolling. And so when the two teens suspected in the shooting death of Osman Al-Akbar on Wednesday started yelling to each other through the wall dividing their interrogation rooms, MPD caught the whole conversation.

"A nigga ain't gonna beat it, somebody gotta cop," yelled out the 15-year-old.
"Cop to that junt," yelled back 19-year-old Rashid Caviness-Bey, encouraging the younger suspect to take the full weight of the murder.

That conversation was reported in court documents made public today, just as Caviness-Bey and the 15-year-old were in court on charges of second-degree murder while armed.

Caviness-Bey was ordered held pending a preliminary hearing on the charge. That hearing is scheduled for Sept. 9.

The status of a 15-year-old juvenile arrested in the case is not known because reporters were not allowed into the courtroom.

According to the charging documents, an off-duty MPD officer working another job in 1400 block of Girard St NW heard several gunshots at about 1:39 a.m. Wednesday. Thinking they were coming from the direction of the 2600 block of University Place he walked in that direction and, in that block, saw two people standing on sidewalk and one person standing in the street. As the officer watched, the person in the street extended its arm downward and the officer heard a gunshot and saw a muzzle flash.

Al-Akbar was found suffering from gunshot wounds to his torso and head in the 2600 block of University Place NW. According to charging documents, he may have been the victim of a robbery: investigators said he had two bank withdrawal slips for a total of $180 but no money was found on him and his wallet was gone.

According to charging documents, two people matching the off-duty officer's descriptions of suspects, now identified as Caviness-Bey and the juvenile, were found lying on the ground underneath a staircase near 15th and Fuller streets Northwest early Wednesday morning.

Near the staircase, investigators found a gun that smelled as though it had been recently fired.

According to the charging documents, the teens had a "lengthy" conversation about the charges they were facing while being held in separate interrogation rooms.

Said the juvenile:

On some real shit cuz. We all men. We can all go down for it and that don't make sense. All of us could have been in for one junt and that don't make no sense. I got too much going on.

Replied Caviness-Bey:

They was hitting us first.

Said the juvenile:

What's that mean?

Said Caviness-Bey:

Hey, we was protecting ourselves man.

Said the juvenile:

Say what?

Said Caviness-Bey:

We was protecting ourselves.

Said the juvenile:

That's ain't gonna work. We gonna get burnt fucking around with that shit. Cuz, all of us in the same boat. If you cop, most they gonna give you is like 10. That's better than 50.

Read the charging documents below.

Two Teens Arrested in Columbia Heights Killing of Osman Al-Akbar Wednesday

Laura Amico — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:30:24 -0400

Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with the shooting death of Osman Al-Akbar in Columbia Heights early Wednesday morning.

MPD said in a press release that Al-Akbar was shot and killed in the 2600 block of University Place, N.W sometime before 1:39 a.m. Wednesday.

Two suspects were stopped by officers shortly after the shooting. They were identified Wednesday evening as 19-year-old Rashid Caviness-Bey and a 15-year-old male of Capitol Heights. They were arrested on suspicion of first-degree felony murder while armed and carrying a pistol without a license. MPD did not identify the 15-year-old, who is a juvenile.

MPD's release is after the jump.

August 17, 2011

Arrest Made in the Homicide of Osman Al-Akbar

( Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch are investigating the fatal shooting which occurred in the 2600 block of University Place, N.W.

On Wednesday, August 17, 2011, at approximately 1:39 am, units from the Third District responded to the 2600 block of University Place, N.W, to investigate the report of sounds of gunshots. Upon their arrival, they observed a male lying in the street suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to the scene and determined that the victim had no signs consistent with life. Subsequently, the victim, identified as 19-year-old Osman Al-Akbar of Northwest, DC, was pronounced dead by a member of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The decedent has been identified as 19-year-old Osman Al-Akbar of Northwest, DC

Shortly after the shooting, Third District officers stopped two suspects in connection with the homicide. After further investigation by detectives from the Homicide Branch, 19-year-old Rashid Caviness-Bey of Northwest and a 15-year old male of Capitol Heights, MD, were charged with First Degree Felony Murder while Armed and Carrying a Pistol Without a license (CPWL).

Man Fatally Shot in Columbia Heights

Laura Amico — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 08:27:17 -0400

Note: this map has been updated to reflect MPD's reported location of the homicide.

There are reports this morning that a man was fatally shot in Columbia Heights Tuesday night, but the location of the shooting is unclear.

The following message is on the Third District listserve this morning.

The Third District is working a shooting in the 1400 block of Fairmont St NW.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Metropolitan Police Department on 2027279099 or 888919CRIME or text at 50411.

Commander Jacob Kishter
Metropolitan Police Department
Third District

Shooting Shooting 0140 Hours_2600 Block of 15th Street, NW No Lookout at This time. DO NOT TAKE ACTION CALL 911 ... http://t.co/35KWE88August 17, 2011 7:01 am via twitterfeed ReplyRetweetFavorite@dcalertsdcalerts

NBC Washington reports that the man was found shot at University and Euclid and that two male suspects were taken into custody just blocks from there.

The Washington Post reports that the crime scene was in the 2600 block of University Place.

MyFoxDC reports that the crime scene was in the 2600 block of 15th Street.

According to reports, the shooting took place just before 2 a.m.

Man Found Dead in NW Washington: MyFoxDC.com