While President Donald J. Trump pushes forward with an ambitious legislative agenda in Washington, another grim reminder of the city’s worsening public safety crisis unfolded just blocks from the Capitol.

Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, a 21-year-old University of Massachusetts student and intern for Republican Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas, was tragically killed Monday night in downtown Washington, D.C., in a shooting that law enforcement now believes was meant for someone else.

According to The Washington Post, the fatal incident occurred shortly before 10:30 p.m. near the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Citing police sources, ABC News reported that “multiple” gunmen opened fire from a vehicle in what authorities described as a targeted attack.

Tarpinian-Jachym was one of three people struck by the gunfire, alongside a woman and a 16-year-old boy. All were transported to area hospitals. Tragically, the young intern succumbed to his injuries the next day.

Police have confirmed that the congressional intern was not the intended target, raising further alarm about the indiscriminate nature of violent crime plaguing the nation's capital.

His heartbroken mother, Tamara Tarpinian-Jachym, offered a brief, devastating statement to the Post: “There’s nothing to say.”

Congressman Estes released a heartfelt tribute to the young man’s character and service.

“I will remember his kind heart and how he always greeted anyone who entered our office with a cheerful smile,” Estes said.

“We are grateful to Eric for his service to Kansas’ 4th District and the country. Please join Susan and me in praying for his family and respecting their privacy during this heartbreaking time.”

The Massachusetts Republican Party echoed those sentiments in a public statement, calling Tarpinian-Jachym a “bright and talented young man.”

Despite a modest drop in D.C. crime statistics since 2023, the reality on the ground tells a different story. Violence continues to fester in Democrat-run cities like Washington, where soft-on-crime policies and lax prosecution embolden criminals and leave law-abiding citizens — and even Capitol Hill interns — vulnerable.

Notably, earlier this year, a staffer for Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs of California was carjacked in the city’s Navy Yard area, underscoring the bipartisan nature of violent crime victims — and the failure of city leaders to get it under control.

Tarpinian-Jachym’s killing marked the 85th homicide in D.C. in 2025, according to The Washington Post — only marginally below the 89 homicides reported at the same time in 2024.

As Congress debates national security and public safety, this tragedy is a chilling reminder that America's capital is still not safe — even for those dedicating their lives to public service.