The mother of a Congressional intern, who lost his life in a drive-by shooting, claims that the Trump administration is taking her son’s tragedy more seriously than officials from Washington, D.C. The Metropolitan Police Department reported that 21-year-old Eric Tarpeinian Jacchim, a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was interning at the time of the incident on June 30th and succumbed to his injuries the following day. At that moment, he was working for Representative Ron Estes from Kansas.
According to the police, multiple individuals exited a vehicle and opened fire, resulting in Jacchim being shot. Authorities noted that he was not the intended target, as the shooting also injured an adult woman and a 16-year-old boy. This tragic event took place near the Mt. Vernon Square Metro station.
In the wake of her son’s death, Tamara Jachym criticized the D.C. Council’s handling of violent crime, likening their attitude to “joking,” especially given the many unsolved murder cases. On Monday, President Trump announced the federal police in D.C. would take on a more active role following escalating incidents.
Jachym expressed to Fox News Digital that the Trump administration seems more invested in tackling the rise in youth crime than local council members. She mentioned that the council should be enacting tougher laws to hold minors accountable for their actions, especially those involved in serious offenses.
Moreover, Jachym emphasized that the leniency shown towards young offenders poses a serious threat, stating, “It’s a big problem, and they know if they can’t see this is a serious issue, we have serious problems.” The D.C. Council has yet to respond to requests for comments on the situation.
Statistics have shown a continuous rise in juvenile arrests in Washington, D.C., with over 2,000 minors detained in the years 2023 and 2024. Notably, juveniles constituted a significant percentage of arrests for robbery and carjacking during that period, prompting Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith to establish a specialized juvenile investigation unit.
Smith pointed out an increase in violent incidents involving minors both in and outside of schools. Jachym insists that there needs to be a shift in the current laws, suggesting that if minors are capable of gun violence, they should also face the repercussions accordingly. “What other alternatives do we have aside from permitting more crime? It’s frankly frightening,” she remarked, underscoring the urgency of addressing this escalating issue.
In a related incident, a 15-year-old boy and girl faced charges for their involvement in a carjacking that resulted in an attack on former D.C. employee Edward Coristine.
