Boy Found Bound, Slain in Home

He said that Don Miguel and his younger brother were very close.

When he dropped Don Miguel at his mother's house each night, Smith said, the younger brother would bypass Smith and go right to Don Miguel. "Don was crazy about his little brother, and his little brother was crazy about him."

He remembered the youngster as a "vibrant, all-American boy," and he also praised the boy's mother, whom he described as an "outstanding parent." She was always doing things for her children, Smith said.

A great-aunt, Patricia Smith, recounted how Don Miguel would fearlessly approach her mastiff and how he would jump around with a towel wrapped about him, imitating Superman.

At his home in Southeast Washington, Donmiguel Wilson Sr., the boy's father, was accepting condolences and trying to fathom what happened. He said he had separated from Barber about two years ago. He saw his son regularly, he said, and they last got together on July 4.

"I'm still kind of blurry up top," Wilson said. "It's hard to believe. Somebody killed my son. Somebody murdered my child."

Wilson said young Don Miguel "would just run to me and hug me tight. . . . I can see him running up the street right now."

The boy was to begin the second grade in September at M.C. Terrell Elementary School, just down the street from his apartment in the 3200 block of Wheeler Road. Neighbors and others who knew him said Don Miguel liked to play football, basketball and video games and often tore around the courtyard on his bicycle.

They said he was polite and friendly at home and at school, recalling how generous he was with his hugs.

"Don Miguel was a nice child, very loving," said Anitha Davis, an administrative assistant at Terrell. "He would always give me a hug before he left for home."

"I really don't know what to make of this," said Andrew Haltiwanger, who lives in the apartment complex. "He was just a happy little boy, and they seemed like a happy family."

Other residents said the area, known as Congress Heights, has long been known as a dumping ground for stolen cars. There have been some drug problems and occasional violence, they said, but nothing to match yesterday.

"Even with all the crime we see in the District, you don't really see children targeted like this," said community activist Sandra Seegars.

Don Miguel was the sixth juvenile slain this year in the District, the 30th since January 2004, a spate of violence that has outraged city officials. The most recent previous casualty was Donte Manning, 9, who was fatally shot in March while playing outside his apartment in Northwest Washington.

Ramsey noted that Donte appeared to be hit by random gunfire, adding, "Unlike Donte Manning, this clearly was intentional."

Capt. C.V. Morris, head of the violent crimes branch, said eight or nine detectives are working the case.

Staff writers Henri E. Cauvin, Allan Lengel and Martin Weil and staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.