While the eyes of the country’s political world have been turned on Washington this week for President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, tragedy struck the family of a Republican congressional intern on a far more personal level.
Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, a 21-year-old University of Massachusetts student working as an intern for GOP Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas, was fatally shot Monday night in downtown D.C., according to The Washington Post.
And the bullets that killed him were “intended for someone else,” the Post reported.
The incident occurred about 10:30 p.m. near the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, according to the Post.
ABC News reported that “multiple” gunmen emerged from a vehicle and started firing in what the station described as a “targeted” shooting.
Tarpinian-Jachym was among three people who were hit, according to ABC. The other victims were an adult woman and a 16-year-old boy.
All three were rushed to local hospitals, but Tarpinian-Jachym died Tuesday.
It wasn’t clear of Tarpinian-Jachym was actually with the other two or was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Police said he was not one of the intended victims, ABC reported.
Contacted by the Post, Tamara Tarpinian-Jachym, the student’s tearful mother, had little to offer.
“There’s nothing to say,” she said, the Post reported.
In a statement, Estes praised Tarpinian-Jachym’s contribution to his office.
“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 also released a statement calling Tarpinian-Jackym a “bright and talented young man.”
State Committeeman Chris Ryan on behalf of the Massachusetts Republican Party:
“The loss of DC Congressional student intern and Granby resident Eric Tarpinian-Jachym is a loss for Massachusetts and our nation. His family is now without its son, and the University of… pic.twitter.com/m8Eiddy3Oh
— MassGOP (@massgop) July 3, 2025
While crime rates have dropped in the capital since 2023, according to the Department of Justice, the streets of D.C. are well known for their danger — as they are in many Democratic-run cities.
And criminals generally don’t discriminate on the basis of partisanship.
In May, a staffer for Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs of California was the victim of a carjacking in the city’s Navy Yard area.
Tarpinian-Jackym’s death marked the 85th homicide in the District of Columbia this year, the Post reported. That’s only slightly less than the 89 recorded at this point in 2024, according to the newspaper.
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