Vigil held for reporter killed in Southeast DC shooting

Family and friends of a local journalist killed in Southeast D.C. came together for a silent vigil Wednesday night.

Charnice Milton was killed by a stray bullet last week on her way home from work.

The vigil was a moving tribute for those who knew the 27-year-old D.C. native. She was remembered as a tenacious up-and-coming journalist as well as a smart, young, educated woman who loved telling the stories of the people in her community.

Some people knelt in prayer, others held hands, and some held their children tight during the vigil. The scene spoke volumes about the impact Milton had on this Southeast D.C. community.

"We are not weeping because she is at the right hand of the father," said Ken McClenton, Milton's father. "The only tears that we shed is the fact there are two men who are out there who can do that which is righteous. Not what is right in their own eyes, but doing that which is righteous in his eyes."

Last week, Milton was making her way home from a story assignment. She was changing buses on Good Hope Road. While she waited, her parents said a young man grabbed her to shield himself from a bullet that was meant for him.

"We know that she did what was right in her life," said her mother, Francine Milton. "They would never have that peace and they will never know the love she knew here on Earth that she knows now."

Milton wrote stories about the Ward 7 and 8 communities for the Hill Rag and East of the River newspapers. It was only fitting that copies of her stories became part of the vigil.

"She came out to interview us because she wanted to tell our story in East of the River magazine to really just highlight the fact that you have young black women in D.C. that are owning a business and the fact that we also hire D.C. residents," said business owner Veronica Davis.

Journalism was a passion that Milton's parents supported and will always remember.

"Every night we came home, that little girl had that light on, and she would type up story after story," her father said.

Police are still on the lookout for the two suspects involved in her shooting.

Milton's family is holding a wake on Friday at 6 p.m. at Living Word Church in Southwest D.C.

Her funeral is set for 10 a.m. on Saturday.