Slaying Not Tied to Gangs, Truce Mediators Say

A 43-year-old man was slain early yesterday in a neighborhood where two warring gangs declared a truce last week.

Police said the man was shot in a leg about 12:05 a.m. at Seventh and Q streets NW, in the city's Shaw area. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

The man's name was not released, pending notification of family members, and officers provided no motive for the attack. But those who helped broker the truce between Shaw's 7th and O crew and 5th and O crew last week said the incident was not linked to either group.

Tyrone Parker, executive director of the Alliance of Concerned Men, who helped mediate discussions between crew members, said other gangs are operating in the Shaw area, in addition to criminals with no connection to gangs.

"We still have work to do," Parker said after visiting the crime scene yesterday. "These neighborhoods are just that fragile."

Neighborhood activist Leroy Thorpe said the anti-gang efforts must include more people in their teens and early 20s.

"The shooting shows me something is missing," Thorpe said.

Those who took part in the recent peace negotiations reacted quickly to the shooting.

Starting at 1:30 a.m. and working into the afternoon, they called or visited each of the 45 men and boys who had pledged to stop fighting.

"All our guys are accounted for," said Eric Perry, one of the mediators. "The truce is still on."

Neighborhood resident Tony Dolford said he heard the shots from his apartment, ran outside and saw a bleeding man run toward him on the other side of Seventh Street.

As the victim fell near a tree in front of the Bread for the City community services center, Dolford darted across the street, having already called 911.

The man, whom Dolford knew only by his first name, couldn't talk; he just moaned, Dolford said.

"I had seen him for years," Dolford said of the man. "He was a good guy. He'd speak to everybody and joked a lot."

Staff writer Allison Klein contributed to this report.