MPD Charges William Louis Chase Jr. With First-Degree Murder in the Minnesota Avenue Bus Stop Killing
Police say the man shot by an officer in a Minnesota Avenue parking lot 19 minutes after a fatal bus stop shooting on October 29 is the same man - now charged with Murder 1 in the death of Yeferson Moreno-Gimenez, 27, of Temple Hills.
A fatal shooting at a Northeast bus stop and an officer-involved shooting four blocks away, less than 20 minutes apart, are the same case, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. In its October 30 statement, reported in full on November 1, the department said Sixth District officers responded at about 5:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 29, to the 4100 block of Minnesota Avenue Northeast for a shooting at a bus stop, where they found Yeferson Moreno-Gimenez, 27, of Temple Hills, Maryland, unconscious and not breathing with a gunshot wound. DC Fire and EMS crews took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
At about 5:19 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 3900 block of Minnesota Avenue Northeast for a man discharging a firearm in a business parking lot. According to the department, officers saw an armed man brandishing a firearm, and as they got out of their vehicle the man allegedly fired toward a bystander who was leaving the business. An officer fired back, striking the man, who was seriously injured and taken to a hospital. Investigators later determined that the man wounded in the parking lot was the suspect in the bus stop killing, and a firearm was recovered at the scene.
Police identified the suspect as William Louis Chase Jr., 47, of Northwest Washington, and charged him with first-degree murder, felony assault on a police officer and emergency personnel, and assault with a dangerous weapon (gun). The department's Homicide Branch is investigating Moreno-Gimenez's death, while the Internal Affairs Bureau's Force Investigations Team investigates the officer-involved shooting separately; the officers involved are on administrative leave under department policy, and the U.S. Attorney's Office will independently review the police shooting. Police have not publicly established a motive. The charges are allegations, and Chase is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court. Anyone with information about the October 29 shootings can call MPD at (202) 727-9099 or text a tip to 50411.
