Zephaniah Wright dies in fatal Petworth shooting

Zephaniah Wright dies in fatal Petworth shooting

Fatal Petworth shooting death of Zephaniah Wright

On the night of Tuesday, April 29, 2025, around 9:01 p.m., gunfire broke out near the 800 block of Taylor Street NW and the 3700 block of Georgia Avenue NW in Washington, D.C.’s Petworth neighborhood. Responding officers from the Fourth District discovered two victims on Georgia Avenue: a 19-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy, both suffering from gunshot wounds.

Emergency crews transported both victims to nearby hospitals. The 19-year-old, Zephaniah Wright of Northeast D.C., was pronounced dead after medical teams were unable to save him. The teenager survived but was seriously injured and remains hospitalized.

A third victim, also an adult male, arrived at a hospital on his own and was treated for less severe gunshot injuries. Authorities later determined he had been wounded at the Taylor Street location.

Following an investigation, police arrested 18-year-old Jose Hernandez of Northwest D.C. on Thursday, June 19, 2025. He was apprehended by the Third District Crime Suppression Team and charged with First Degree Murder while Armed (Premeditated) under a D.C. Superior Court warrant.