Deaths of 3 D.C. Teens In 24 Hours Shock City

The third juvenile victim was CeQuawn Brown, 16, who was found with a bullet in his head in the 5300 block of Astor Place SE at 7:20 Monday night.

His mother, Nika Brown, said she had moved her son out of that neighborhood about a year earlier because she didn't think it was a safe place for him. But he went back there because that's where his friends were, she said.

Brown said she believes her son, an 11th-grader at Eastern High School, was targeted by someone in the neighborhood with whom he had an ongoing dispute.

"I just think that society is going against one another and taking matters into their own hands," Brown said.

The fifth killing in the 24-hour stretch happened Monday night, when William Downing, 25, of the 300 block of 44th Street SE was discovered in the 1900 block of 17th Street about 11:40 p.m.

Ronald Moten, co-founder of the grass-roots group Peaceoholics, said yesterday that he thinks school being back in session is contributing to the violence.

"A lot of people are clashing with each other, they are seeing each other again," he said. "When school starts up, they have to cross different paths and things are ignited once again."

Staff writers Nikita Stewart, Martin Weil and Allan Lengel contributed to this report.