The Washington Post - 05.03.2020

B4 eZ sU THE WASHINGTON POST.THURSDAy, MARCH 5 , 2020

struggle in Shaw, among other possibilities. He said malachi’s group was targeted. The commander said there was an increased police presence in the area after the feb. 24 s hooting that included officers working overtime, and several were three blocks away and heard the gun- shots that killed the boy. Those officers arrived at the scene, an alley off S Street called Glick Court, i n under 24 s econds. “That still didn’t stop a homi- cide on a Sunday afternoon,” Emerman said of the extra deployment. The 24 seconds, the commander said, “was enough time for our suspects to fire and get away f rom the area.” The commander called the killing of such a young child “expo- nentially tragic” and he said it “is something we are having a tough time trying to understand, and the community is having a tough time trying to understand.” Whatever the motive, h e said, i t comes down “to the same common factor — a handgun is introduced and some- body is tragically harmed or killed.... our emphasis is getting these guns off the streets.” As police officials spoke, a ser- geant carried in a stack of fliers with malachi’s picture attached and offering a $25,000 reward for tips that lead to an arrest and conviction. malachi was shot days before his 14th birthday, and his family has planned a vigil for Thursday evening outside the Shaw Community Center, where his mother worked. meanwhile, Emerman and Capt. Han Kim tried to reassure the audience that crime is down in most categories, including rob- beries, even as they said officers are seizing more and more guns. malachi was s hot less t han a block from a portable police surveillance camera put up after a 19- year-old man was fatally shot on the same block l ast year. more than 50 residents who filled a basement room at the

sHaw from B1

Shaw Library pressed for answers. “It feels worse because of the shootings,” resident Sarah mimms said after hearing the crime report, which included news that police had arrested a

man in connection with randomly breaking c ar windows with rocks. Inda Swanke moved into an apartment building in may that overlooks S Street and Glick Court. She said building residents call police several times each week, and she did once after wit- nessing a drug deal and assault as she picked up her dry cleaning. She said officers were sent to the wrong address and arrived long after the people fled. But Swanke, a journalist with Voice of America, tried to push beyond police response times and deployment, and her comments hinted at struggles with the rapid

gentrification that has trans- formed the historic African A mer- ican neighborhood and has some- times pitted longtime residents against newcomers. No matter how many guns are out there, Swanke said at the meeting, “we know a child who is cared for, loved and in a struc- tured environment is not going to pick up a gun and go out there shooting. What are we as neighbors, as a community, doing to relate to these young people?” Swanke said the goal should be “just to be good neighbors and to have a better community for all of us.” one man who spoke at the meeting told residents there have now been two teenagers — malachi and 19-year-old Ta hlil Byrd, who was shot in September — killed outside his apartment building. Police said Byrd was killed in a shootout on S Street with a nother man who, according to court documents, was arrested and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. His sentencing is pending. The apartment resident, who spoke at t he meeting b ut spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the violence, said he moved to S Street seven months ago and is engaged to be married. He told the group that in addition to the homicides, six other people have been shot along the route he takes to the grocery s tore. After the meeting, he said, “I am definitely having second t houghts about starting a f amily here, about having kids here.” He said he felt “a little bit reassured” by the pre- sentation from police, but he not- ed the programs and tactics “don’t seem to have much of an impact.” The man said he was not home when malachi was shot and was sleeping when Byrd w as killed. He said he later watched video from his neighbor’s surveillance camera that d id not show Byrd’s s hooting but picked up audio. “I heard 17 shots, then a scream,” t he man said. [email protected]

Police seek possible link in shootings

sUdI West Malachi Lukes was fatally shot sunday near sixth and s streets in Northwest washington, days before his 14 th birthday. He was walking with friends to play basketball.

“Our emphasis is getting

these guns off the

streets.” Cmdr. Stuart Emerman, who runs the 3rd district station

crAIgslIst.cOm

among the posts on Craigslist is one for a coronavirus vaccine, even
though there is no real vaccine for the virus that causes covid-19.

measurement of our mass
mania.
of course, this is a dangerous
virus. And taking the CDC-
approved precautions is both
wise and necessary (hand-
washing, covering your mouth,
etc). But after I found myself
squinting at a tiny label on a
bare shelf at a Virginia Ta rget to
make sure it had indeed once
held bleach (it had), I started to
wonder whether people in the
Washington region were
reacting more calmly or
frantically than people
elsewhere. Were we all equal in
our madness, or were there
different levels to our lunacy?

To get that answer, I went to a
different type of marketplace. I
went to a place where people
don’t care how they look when
they shop, and because of that,
tend to let their fears,
desperation and willingness to
profit off one another’s anxieties
go on full display during times
of crisis. I went to a place where
companies don’t decide what’s
for sale or set prices —
neighbors do.
I went to Craigslist.
fair warning: I am not an
economist. I’m not even a
business writer. So what I’m
about to tell you is not based on
anything more than my
observations from looking at
more posts than any person ever
should on Craigslist or any other
online marketplace.
I searched for coronavirus-
related listings in cities across
the country. And this is what I
found: Those empty-shelf
images may capture our
collective coronavirus panic, but
the posts on Craigslist reveal
our coronavirus craziness. And
the level of that craziness, for
now, differs across regions.
A s earch of listings in the
District, maryland and
Northern Virginia area revealed
as of Wednesday mostly
predictable, practical products.
People were overcharging for
surgical masks. A few were
selling nebulizers. one person —
in a post that warned “ be
prepared now before the
Coronavirus outbreak happens
here” — was selling a case of

Vargas from B1 mrEs for $100.
for the most part, the posts
were (shockingly) reasonable.
Unlike elsewhere.
In other parts of the country,
the word “coronavirus” is being
used to try to sell everything
from wedding dresses to
property.
“Defense Against
Coronavirus,” reads the title of
one post for a $1.6 million,
three-bedroom home near Santa
Barbara, Calif.
“A re you concerned about
airborne viruses?” it continues.
“Live next to the ocean with
fresh clean air and breezes.”
farther south, in the Los
Angeles area, a person with $50
to spare can choose between two
protections against the virus.
They can buy a “Coronavirus
— stay at home drink.” for $45,
they get a 16-ounce jar of vodka
with Wisconsin ginseng root.
or if they opt to spend $5
more, they can get a
“BABYSITTEr Gas mask Hood
for Infants.”
A picture of the mask shows
what looks like a plastic suit for
space travel. The mask is
described as including “an
internal feeding bottle that does
not compromise the suit’s
protective seal.” It also offers
this reassurance: more than six
hours of “resistance to Liquid
mustard Penetration.”
In Dallas, you can find a
“coronavirus-free gym.” And in
Seattle, you can get a
“Coronavirus-free Aircraft.”
“fly without risk of
Coronavirus infection,” that post
entices. It lists the price as
“financing available with min.
$100K down.”
Then there are the get-rich-
quick and too-good-to-be-true
offers that promise not just to
ease worries but to eliminate
them.
“Coronavirus vaccine Kvid-19
— $800,” reads the title of one
post.
The description claims that
the vaccine comes “directly from
the US biotechnology company.”
from there, the d escription
dissolves into broken,
nonsensical sentences. It reads:
“ended waiting for the dreaded
virus to take advantage of and
give our families a chance and
our children to protect.” of
course, there is not yet an
approved vaccine for the virus.
There is no telling what will
happen in the D.C. area as the
virus spreads and the country’s
death toll rises, but for now, we
seem to have maintained a
semblance of sanity amid that
marketplace craziness.
We may have to hunt harder
for a bottle of bleach, but we
aren’t trying to sell one another
coronavirus-free spaces and
vaccines that don’t exist.
At least, not yet.
[email protected]

THERESA VARGAS

D.C. area so far spared

true coronavirus madness

Outside our area, t he

word “coronavirus” is

being used to try to sell

everything from

wedding dresses to

property.

vue and Hetle over the shooting for $75,000, the Seattle Times reported. Hetle was separately disci- plined for a traffic stop in which an Ethio pian immigrant accused him of racial bias, according to news accounts. Hetle reached a settlement with Bellevue to drop a claim of emotional distress against the police department that required him to resign in 2003. The settlement also required that only cer- tain materials about Hetle’s time with the department be forward- ed to future employers. NASA declined to comment on whether the agency was aware of Hetle’s tenure with the Bellevue police. In Tuesday’s incident, fairfax County police said they were called to the 7700 block of Bed- straw Court in Springfield about 4:50 p.m. for a report of a man shot. When officers arrived, they found Javon Prather, 24, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound outside a home, police said. Hetle and Prather both lived on Bed- straw Court. officers provided medical care, but Prather was pronounced dead on the scene, police said. Hetle was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony. He was arraigned Wednes- day and is being held without bond at the fairfax County jail. fairfax County police have not disclosed a possible motive for

sHOOTINg from B1

the shooting, but Javon’s mother, Shavon Prather, said Hetle had a feud with her son and his wife that dated back years. She declined to discuss what sparked the arguments. Shavon Prather said the feud was bad enough that her son and

his wife had considered selling their home and that police had been called to the neighborhood on multiple occasions. She said Hetle had a restraining order against her son’s wife. “[Hetle] would call the HoA and say there was dog poop in their backyard,” Shavon Prather said. “He would call and complain when they put out trash. Any- thing he could do to scold them and to get them in trouble.” Shavon Prather said her son had told her he believed Hetle was biased and targeted him and his wife because they are biracial. fairfax County Police Lt. Stephen r. Wallace said police did not currently have any evidence there was any racial animus that moti- vated the shooting. Shavon Prather said the shooting unfolded as her son went to check the mailbox, according to an account she was given by her daughter-in-law, who Shavon Prather said wit- nessed the shooting. Hetle and Javon Prather exchanged words and Hetle pulled out a gun, firing multiple shots, according to the account. Shavon Prather said her son was nearing the end of a stint with the National Guard and planned to reenlist. He worked at a Giant food store near his home and she described him as outgo- ing. He had two brothers. “He was full of spirit,” Shavon Prather said. “He was very hard-

working.” maryland Gov. Larry Hogan tweeted his condolences on Wednesday. “We’re deeply saddened by the passing of Specialist Javon Prath- er, a member of the 175th Infantry regiment of the maryland Nation- al Guard,” the tweet read. “The first Lady and I ask all maryland- ers to join us in sending our heart- felt prayers to Javon’s family, friends, & to all those who loved him.” Jason free, who is Hetle’s for- mer brother-in-law, said he was stunned to learn of the killing. “from what I knew, he was very professional,” free said. free said Hetle spoke several languages, has two children and was di- vorced from free’s sister. free said Hetle had grown up in California. Hetle also previously worked for the Depart- ment of Homeland Secu- rity as a director and was a 25- year veteran of the Navy and its reserves, according to an online biography on NASA’s website. When asked for comment, Bel- levue police referred to a state- ment that detailed Hetle’s s epara- tion from the department in 200 3. Court records did not list an attorney for Hetle. [email protected]

magda Jean-louis contributed to this report.

Springfield man held in fatal shooting of neighbor

mArylAnd nAtIOnAl gUArd Javon Prather, 24, was fatally shot Tuesday in springfield. His mother said he was nearing the end of a National guard stint.

Michael J. Hetle, 52, is being held without bond.

“He was full of spirit.

He was very hard-

working.” Shavon Prather, J avon Prather’s mother

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The Washington Post - 05.03.2020

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