The suspect who shot and killed a young Louisiana State University student who was attending a New Year's Eve party with friends in Washington, D.C., has been arrested and charged.
Jelani Cousin, 18, of Northeast Washington, was arrested by police Tuesday while armed and accused of fatally shooting 18-year-old Ashley Hines in a Washington, D.C., hotel room early on New Year's Day. He was charged with first-degree murder. This was announced by Washington DC Police.
The shooting, which occurred just before 1:20 a.m. on January 1, was the first homicide reported in the nation's capital in 2024.
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Jelani Cousin (left) was arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting 18-year-old Ashley Hines inside a Washington, D.C., hotel room in the early hours of New Year's Day. (DC Police Department, left, Damon Fleming, via Fox 5)
Hines' family said he was celebrating with a large group of people in a hotel room at the Embassy Suites in Friendship Heights, about nine miles northwest of downtown D.C. fox 5. Some of her attendees were friends of hers, while others she didn't really know.
An area councilman told FOX 5 the celebration turned ugly after someone was asked to leave and then shots were fired.
Police responded and found Hines inside a hotel room suffering from a gunshot wound. She died at the scene, police said.
D.C. police circulated surveillance camera screenshot images of the wanted suspect on Tuesday and arrested Cousin later that day.
Ashley Hines (pictured) was shot and killed on New Year's Day. Jelani Cousin, 18, was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of an 18-year-old student. (Damon Fleming, via Fox 5)
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Hines' parents told FOX 5 that she was a rising star, graduating from Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Prince George's County last year as president of the Student Government Association and a member of the National Honor Society. .
They said she was a first-year student studying sports management at Louisiana State University and had returned home for winter break with dreams of becoming a sports agent or sports director.
“Ashley was a wonderful child and we will miss her very much,” her father, Ashton Hines, tearfully told FOX 5.
Hines' mother, Tiffany Falden, said she spoke with her daughter from about 11:55 p.m. to about midnight Sunday, exchanging New Year's greetings and sharing “I love you” messages.
Embassy Suites in Friendship Heights (Google Maps)
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“I just want justice and the other families. I mean, it could happen to anyone,” Falden told FOX 5.
“I mean, there's so much going on these days, people just walking down the street. Just love your family. Hug your family. Be there for your kids, your family, other… I just pray that the same thing doesn't happen to anyone else.”
There were 274 homicides reported in Washington, D.C., in 2023, the most in the city since 1997, FOX 5 reported, citing online records.
