Reward increased for suspect accused of killing congressional intern

(WASHINGTON) — Officials have increased the reward for information leading to the person who fatally shot a 21-year-old congressional intern in Washington, D.C., last month.

Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, of Granby, Massachusetts, was killed on June 30 at approximately 10:28 p.m. after getting caught in gunfire in northwest Washington, D.C., police said.

The Metropolitan Police Department said on Tuesday that a reward of $40,000 is available for anyone who is able to provide information that leads to the “arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.” Police were offering a previous award of $25,000, but increased it an additional $15,000 “thanks to a contribution from our partners at the FBI Washington Field Office,” officials said.

Investigators said they recovered the suspect vehicle last week and stated that while the shooting was targeted, Tarpinian-Jachym was not among the intended victims.

In total, three people were wounded in the shooting: Tarpinian-Jachym, who was found unconscious; a woman, who was in stable condition as of last week; and a 16-year-old male who police believe was involved with the group that opened fire, police said. As of last week, the teenager remained in the hospital.

D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith told reporters last week, “We do have some good video footage, and I say good video footage that’s a little grainy, so we’re bringing in the FBI to kind of help enhance the video resolution so we can see a little bit better.”

Police are also working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on ballistics analysis.

Last week, Smith described the shooting as “a tragedy,” and “something that we don’t ever want to happen in our city.”

Tarpinian-Jachym, who had been serving as an intern for Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas since June, was a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he was majoring in finance with a minor in political science.

Officials said anyone with information regarding the incident should call police at 202-727-9099 or text the police department’s line at 50411.