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A former New York City Police Department detective says he thinks police in Washington, D.C. are treating the death of a congressional intern in an “unusual” way.
According to police in Washington, D.C., Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, a 21-year-old student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who was in D.C. for an internship, was shot on June 30 at around 10:28 p.m. and later died at a local hospital on July 1. Tarpinian-Jachym was interning for Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan., at the time.
The Metropolitan Police Department said several people were seen exiting a car before opening fire, when Tarpinian-Jachym was shot. Authorities said that Tarpinian-Jachym wasn’t the intended target and that an adult female and 16-year-old male were injured. The shooting happened in the 1200 block of 7th Street, Northwest, near the Mt Vernon Sq 7th St-Convention Center Metro stop.
Tarpinian-Jachym’s mother, Tamara Jachym, told Fox News Digital that the Metropolitan Police Department hasn’t been consistently updating her on the status of her son’s case. An arrest hasn’t been made in the shooting.
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Eric Tarpinian-Jachym was shot and killed on Monday. (Phillip Peterson)
Former NYPD Detective and security expert Pat Brosnan told Fox News Digital this is “unusual,” stating that in his experience, families of homicide victims are frequently contacted by police.
“I think it’s unusual,” Brosnan said. “Certainly my experience and, you know, in other counties and municipalities, detectives are generally quite responsive to the uh inquiries from complaining witnesses because they understand the gravity of the crime they understand the impact on the effect that these criminal matters that occurred to different folks.”
Brosnan said the lack of consistent communication could be because of different factors, such as vacation or personal leave.
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Eric Tarpinian-Jachym pictured with his mother, Tamara Jachym. (Tamara Jachym)
“[Detectives] do understand that need for contact to provide a measure of comfort as well as direct knowledge process of the case. How the case is moving along,” he said. “You know, are the witnesses been spoken to? Have there been eyewitnesses developed? Has the crime scene yielded any clues? And all the associated layers of an investigation.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police Department said: “This is an active and open investigation that our detectives are continuing to work on. We remain in contact with the family and provide updates.”
In an earlier interview with Fox News Digital, Eric’s mother, Tamara Jachym, said her son faced challenges in his life but constantly found ways to overcome it.
“He had ambition because he had some adversity in his life. A lot of things have happened to him. And he did struggle initially, like he had severe dyslexia as a first-grader. He couldn’t read or write, but boy, he could do it. He taught himself mathematics and how to play chess from YouTube,” Jachym said. “He had some adversity issues, but I think he felt accepted in D.C. because he was bright and articulate, and he was always kind of flat-faced. When he smiled, you knew he meant it. It was genuine.”
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Eric Tarpinian-Jachym seen fishing. (Tamara Jachym )
The FBI and Metropolitan Police Department are offering a $40,000 reward for anyone who provides information leading to an arrest and conviction, and are encouraging them to contact (202) 727-9099.