On July 10 a Democratic National Committee (DNC) worker was shot and killed on his walk home in Northwest D.C., according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Democratic National Committee (DNC) worker Seth Conrad Rich. (Linkedln Photo)
Seth Conrad Rich, 27, was on his way home when he was shot and killed around 4 a.m. in the Bloomingdale neighborhood, police said.
Officers were patrolling the area when they heard the sound of gunfire. Police said they found Rich, who is White, conscious and breathing in the 2100 Block of Flagler Place, NW, but suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to a local hospital where he later died, police reported.
“Detectives are actively investigating this case,” Aquita Brown, a spokesperson for the department, told the AFRO July 12. Brown said police are asking for the community’s assistance in locating suspects involved in the homicide.
Acting Captain Anthony Haythe held a press conference regarding the incident on July 11. Haythe said authorities are unsure of what the motive of the attack was and that they do not have any details at this time regarding a robbery.
According to the police department’s website, Rich’s homicide was the first the area has seen in 2016, but there have been six robberies with a gun as of July 13. Data shows that the area has mostly dealt with property crime incidents in 2016.
Democratic presidential candidate Hilary Clinton acknowledged the death of Seth Rich at a New Hampshire rally July 12. “He was just 27-years-old. Surely we can agree that weapons of war have no place on the streets of America.” Clinton said Rich was working with the DNC to help expand voting rights.
The remarks on stricter gun laws come after a wave of mass shootings and hate crimes like, the murder of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, LA, the Minnesota killing of Philando Castile and the apparent retaliation to police killing these two Black men that resulted in the slaying of five Dallas officers. Last month, 49 people were also slaughtered in a gay Orlando nightclub.
“Seth Rich was a dedicated, selfless public servant who worked tirelessly to protect the most sacred right we share as Americans — the right to vote,” said DNC Chair, Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz. (RICHARD DREW/AP)
“We have to be better and defend each other… a life is exponentially valuable,” Rich’s last Facebook post read, according to the Washington Post. Rich pleaded for people to stop killing one another.
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued a statement on their website July 11, “Our hearts are broken with the loss of one of our DNC family members over the weekend. Seth Rich was a dedicated, selfless public servant who worked tirelessly…” She added, “He saw the great potential of our nation and believed that, together, we can make the world a better place.”