Ballou High School student shot, killed in DC identified

WASHINGTON - A 15-year-old student who was shot and killed near a school in the District was identified on Thursday.

DC police said Jaylyn Wheeler, a freshman student at Ballou High School student, was shot just before 4 p.m. on Wednesday in the 600 block of Alabama Avenue, SE, just outside the Democracy Prep Congress Heights Public Charter School.

Investigators said they believed a physical altercation took place at Ballou High School earlier in the day that involved Wheeler.

"This is a community issue that is spilling over into our schools. A school is a place where schools should feel safe. Where they can get a quality education and when it's not, it comes upon us, especially men, not to ever exclude women because black women have held our community for decades and decades, but we need more men to stand up in our community," Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White said.

Detectives said they were searching for three suspects in connection with the shooting who were spotted fleeing down an alleyway shortly after gunfire erupted.

Officials described one suspect as a male between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 130 pounds and was last seen wearing tan pants and no shirt. A second suspect was described as a male wearing tan pants and a white polo shirt. There was no description provided for the third suspect.

Officials said they had obtained video of the suspects that was captured on a nearby surveillance camera.

Anyone with information that could aid detectives in their investigation was urged to call police at (202) 727-9099.