Teen thugs allegedly gunned down GOP intern in DC — Pirro announces charges

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, announced charges against two teenagers accused of fatally shooting a congressional intern.

‘This killing underscores why we need the authority to prosecute these younger kids, because they’re not kids; they’re criminals.’

Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, a 21-year-old University of Massachusetts student and intern for the office of Republican Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas, was killed near D.C.’s Mount Vernon Square in June when a group of people exited a car and opened fire. Two others were injured in the attack, including a 16-year-old.

“The scene involved two rifles, one 9 millimeter, and 79 rounds on the ground,” Pirro said on Friday.

Pirro announced that two 17-year-olds had been arrested and charged with first-degree murder for the shooting. She noted that authorities are also pursuing a third suspect. The teens will be tried as adults.

“[Tarpinian-Jachym] was an innocent bystander who was caught in a violent act that was not meant for him,” Pirro stated. “His death is a stark reminder of how fragile life is and how violence too often visits us in the nation’s capital.”

RELATED: 21-year-old congressional intern killed in triple shooting in Washington, DC

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Pirro stated that Tarpinian-Jachym was shot four times.

“The D.C. Council thinks that these kids need to be protected. They don’t need to be protected. They need to be made accountable,” Pirro said. “This killing underscores why we need the authority to prosecute these younger kids, because they’re not kids; they’re criminals.”

Blaze News reached out to the D.C. Council for comment.

Pirro mentioned that violent acts like this are the reason President Donald Trump has launched a law enforcement initiative in D.C. to restore order.

RELATED: DC mayor and AG at odds as lawsuit challenges Trump’s anti-crime operation

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

“Eric, you didn’t die in vain,” Tamara Tarpinian-Jachym, the victim’s mother, told the Washington Post. “If we would’ve known the city was so dangerous, we wouldn’t have let him go.”

She told the news outlet that listening to President Donald Trump gave her hope.

“Hope that my son won’t just be a statistic. And hope that these changes will mean no other innocent people will get shot,” she added.

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