WASHINGTON — A 34-year-old Maryland man was shot to death on Howard University's campus in Northwest D.C. Thursday morning, sparking a homicide investigation.
Officers with the Metropolitan Police Department responded to the area of 6th Street Northwest and W Street Northwest after ShotSpotter, a gun detection system, alerted them to shots fired in the area around 6 a.m. Upon arrival, they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound on the sidewalk.
The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment, but was pronounced dead a short time after.
He was identified as Rafael Adolfo Gomez of Beltsville. Gomez was a construction worker.
Gomez's wife Yasmin Flores says she never imagined that her husband would not come home.
"In the morning he told me, 'I am leaving my love. When I get to work, I will call you' and he did. He called me and said he was going to change his clothes to start working," Flores told WUSA9.
Flores says the following call she received was from the hospital informing her that her husband of three years, was fighting for his life.
Gomez was an immigrant from El Salvador who had been living in the U.S. for 10 years. His wife says he was always smiling and willing to help others. She struggles to wrap her head round losing her hardworking husband over money or material things.
"He got along with everybody. I don't know why this happened to him. People do not touch their hearts before doing bad things, and they don't know who is left suffering," Flores added.
Police are still searching for suspects in this case.
Detectives are asking for the public's help locating a vehicle of interest, described as a white Nissan SUV, last seen bearing Maryland tags 5EW6340.
A Howard University public safety spokesperson says preliminary details indicate the man shot, and potential suspects, are not affiliated with the university. Those on campus are asked to avoid the area while police continue their investigation.
James Boteler, a 3rd District Commander with MPD, said initially it appears the shooting happened as a result of a robbery. Boteler said they are looking for a white SUV in connection to the shooting. It was last seen heading southbound on Georgia Avenue. Boteler echoed what the university said, and said there was no threat to the campus.
Boteler urged anyone with information to come forward. Since it's a busy area and an open campus, he was sure someone saw something helpful to the investigation.
"There were lots of citizens preparing to go to work this morning. I'm sure there are folks out here who saw or heard something," Boteler said in a press conference.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by sending a text message to 50411.
According to MPD, there have been a total of 129 homicides across the District as of Wednesday, which is an increase of 17% compared to the previous year. Within the same period of time in 2022, there were 110 recorded homicides.