A 14-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with felony murder while armed in the death of a construction worker at Howard University.
The minor’s identity has not been released.
The events date back to Thursday, July 13, when Rafael Adolfo Gomez, 34, of Beltsville, Maryland, was shot during an apparent robbery attempt as he was arriving for work at the school’s northwest DC campus.
Gomez worked for a contractor on a steam plant project on campus. He was shot in the 600 block of Bryant Street NW around 6 am, police said. The crime scene was between the WHUR-FM radio station and the College of Medicine building.
A Hispanic construction worker has died after being shot in what police believe was an attempted robbery in DC
Detectives told a news conference that they believe the worker was shot in an attempted robbery. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died.
“He called me and said: ‘My love, I just got to work,’” said his widow, Jazmin Flores. “’I’ll change my clothes and then I’ll call you when I have my lunch.’ Apparently she just got off the phone and it happened.”
A fellow construction worker said he heard the shots.
“I got out of the truck at 6 to start work. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I heard gunshots right there around the corner. I was like, ‘Holy crap.’ I turned in the truck and rounded the corner,” said Richard Jones.
Several construction workers have been attacked in DC in recent years. In 2020, construction company owner Elias Flores was on a construction site in Deanwood when a robber shot and killed him.
He was a working father who dreamed of retiring in his home country of El Salvador. In 2022, a man was arrested for a series of 19 robberies targeting primarily Hispanic construction workers. Just a few months ago, a construction worker was mugged at the Navy Yard during an attempted robbery.
Howard President Wayne AI Frederick said in a letter to the school community that Gomez was a “husband, father and friend.”
“I join the campus community in offering my deepest condolences to the family and to all who mourn this tragedy,” Frederick concluded.
