Trump administration official shot in Washington DC carjacking

A man who sustained life-threatening injuries after falling victim in a spree of criminal incidents has been identified by his family as Mike Gill, a former Trump administration official.

Police are investigating what they call an “overnight crime spree” in Washington DC, which also left another dead in connection to one suspect.

On Monday at around 5.45pm, the suspect approached an occupied vehicle that was parked, according to a press release from the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department.

The suspect got inside the car and shot the adult male driver, then got back out of the vehicle and fled the scene on foot.

Mr Gill is in a “very critical condition” as of Tuesday night, according to a Washington DC spokesperson who spoke to WTOP.

According to his LinkedIn, Mr Gill is the senior vice president of Capital Markets at the Housing Policy Council. He previously worked for the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission between 2016 and 2019.

In a statement to Fox 5, Mr Gill’s family said, “His warmth and kindness have touched the lives of many, evident in the outpouring of love and support his family has received during this difficult time.”

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“You can’t know Mike without hearing proud stories of each one of his kids and hearing about his love and respect for his wife, Kristina,” the statement added.

However, the suspect’s crime spree did not stop there, as at around 7.05pm, the suspect then tried to carjack a person driving a car but was unsuccessful so again, he fled the scene, the police press release said.

Around 10 minutes after this, at 7.15pm, the suspect came up to a man and a woman by their car and demanded their keys.

The suspect then proceeded to shoot the man and fled the scene in the victim’s vehicle.

The victim, identified by police as 35-year-old Alberto Vasquez Jr, was transported to the hospital where he died.

His parents told NBC Washington that the crime was senseless.

“They gave up the keys and, for whatever reason, the guy still shot him and ended up killing my son,” his mother, Antoinette Walker, said.

“You just kill him over a car?” his father, Jacob Walker, added.

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The vehicle was later located in Prince George’s County, where the suspect committed a further two carjackings.

A Sixth District cruiser was driving on I-295 northbound when the suspect in a carjacked vehicle shot at the cruiser.  The officer was not injured, but a round did strike the cruiser.

The suspect then had an interaction with members of the New Carrollton Police Department, leading to an officer-involved shooting at around 4.35am on Tuesday.

The Maryland Attorney General IID is continuing to work with local law enforcement to investigate the officer-involved shooting, according to a press release.

Thomas Lester, a spokesperson at Maryland Attorney General Independent Investigations Division, said at a news conference that the suspect walked up to the officers and “produced two handguns”, so “two New Carrollton officers discharged their service weapons, striking the man”.

He was provided aid and taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The Metropolitan Police Department said in their press release that there is no ongoing threat to the community and are continuing to work with their regional law enforcement partners on the investigation.