Two 17-year-olds have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the June shooting death of Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, a 21-year-old congressional intern, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced Friday.

Suspects Named

The two suspects, Jalen Lucas and Kelvin Thomas Jr., were arrested in Washington, D.C., and will be tried as adults. Prosecutors allege that the teens, along with a third suspect still at large, opened fire in a drive-by attack on June 30 that unleashed 79 rounds in a residential neighborhood just northeast of the White House.

Officials said the gunfire targeted a rival group but instead struck bystanders, including Tarpinian-Jachym, who later died of his injuries on July 1.

Attorney’s Remarks

“This young man didn’t deserve to be gunned down, and the system failed him,” Pirro said at a press conference. “It’s bad enough to be gunned down on any street, but to be gunned down in our nation’s capital is an outrage.”

Pirro strongly criticized local juvenile justice laws, arguing that lenient treatment of repeat offenders contributed to the violence. “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,” she said.

Although President Donald Trump has called for the death penalty in some cases, Pirro noted that the charges fall under D.C. law rather than federal statutes, meaning capital punishment is not an option.

Political Context

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser appeared alongside Pirro, saying she agreed the teenagers should be tried as adults. “Cold-blooded murder qualifies as a crime that should have a 17-year-old considered as an adult,” Bowser said.

The case has unfolded during a period of heightened federal law enforcement presence in the city. Last month, President Trump ordered additional federal agents and National Guard troops into Washington after Tarpinian-Jachym’s killing and another high-profile assault weeks later. The administration has reported seizing nearly 200 illegal firearms in the crackdown.

Call for Legal Changes

Pirro urged Congress to revisit laws that shifted authority over juvenile prosecutions from the U.S. Attorney’s Office to the elected D.C. attorney general. She also criticized a law that allows judges to suspend prison sentences for offenders under 24.

“These young punks who are on the street with guns, shooting at each other, killing innocent people — they need to be brought into my system and not in the family court system for rehabilitation, because they’ve been in that system more than once,” Pirro said.

She cited a July case in which a 19-year-old received probation after pleading guilty to a bus shooting as an example of what she described as a broken system.

The Victim

Tarpinian-Jachym was a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management. That summer, he was serving as an intern for Representative Ron Estes (R-Kan.) in Washington.

The drive-by shooting occurred near a Metro station close to the Washington Convention Center. Authorities said the neighborhood, which includes public housing complexes, has struggled with higher levels of violent crime.

“Eric was an innocent young man at the start of his career,” Pirro said. “This tragedy underscores why we need stronger tools to keep dangerous offenders off the streets.”

Ongoing Investigation

Police said they reviewed hundreds of hours of surveillance footage to identify the suspects. A third alleged shooter remains at large.

Authorities compared the case to other unsolved killings in the city despite the extensive network of surveillance cameras, including the 2022 murder of Dr. Rakesh Patel, a physician killed after a carjacking.

Next Steps

Lucas and Thomas are being held without bail pending trial. Prosecutors confirmed they will be tried as adults, facing potential life sentences if convicted. The third suspect has not been publicly identified, and officials say the search is ongoing.

The case is expected to reignite debate in Washington over juvenile justice, violent crime, and the role of federal intervention in the city’s policing.