New details revealed about Maryland man accused of shooting, killing DC 6-year-old
New details revealed about Maryland man accused of shooting, killing DC 6-year-old
The Maryland man accused of shooting and killing 6-year-old Nyiah Courtney in southeast D.C. was in court Thursday and new details have been revealed about his work and the night Courtney died. FOX 5's Evan Lambert has more.
WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - The Maryland man accused of shooting and killing 6-year-old Nyiah Courtney in southeast D.C. was in court Thursday and new details have been revealed about his work and the night Courtney died.
FOX 5 has learned that Marktwan Hargraves worked as an after-school counselor at Janney Elementary School in Tenleytown.
Hargraves is now accused of murdering Nyiah Courtney and injuring several others in the July 16 shooting on MLK Ave SE.
It appears Courtney's father may have been a target in a neighborhood feud that may also be linked to a larger drug conspiracy.
Court documents say Hargraves sent group texts the day after the shooting offering remorse and saying, "Got talk to ya it’s serious it’s crushing me inside bruh. I cried last night," and, "I’m hurt."
DC POLICE RECOVER VEHICLE THEY BELIEVE CONNECTED TO SHOOTING DEATH OF 6-YEAR-OLD
He also tried to sell a rifle that fires the same caliber bullets as the ones used in Courtney's killing.
All this comes as a battle is ongoing between the Bowser mayoral administration and the D.C. superior court system.
"The courts are not open. That is a fact. Barely open. So cases from last year, from 2020, that happened during the pandemic of violent criminals have not been disposed of," said D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee. "Where do you think those individuals are? Anybody want to take a guess? They're in community."
The head judges gave a rare response Thursday saying they've been open, just not fully in person.
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Mayor Bowser nor MPD have given any concrete data that show the backlog of court cases has directly led to an increase in crime.