Intern for Rep. Ron Estes killed in Northwest D.C. shooting

Justin Papp, CQ-Roll Call on Jul 2, 2025

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Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, an intern in the office of Rep. Ron Estes, was shot and killed in Northwest D.C. on Monday night, Metropolitan Police and the Kansas Republican confirmed.

Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, was a Granby, Mass., resident who joined Estes’ office earlier in June. Metropolitan Police said in a statement Wednesday that detectives believe he was not the intended target of the shooting.

“I will remember his kind heart and how he always greeted anyone who entered our office with a cheerful smile,” Estes said in a statement on Wednesday. “We are grateful to Eric for his service to Kansas’ 4th District and the country.”

Metropolitan Police responded to the sound of gunshots on the 1200 block of Seventh Street Northwest just before 10:30 p.m. Monday night and found Tarpinian-Jachym unconscious, the department said. Officers also located an adult female and a 16-year-old male suffering from gunshot wounds, although both were breathing and conscious. All three were transferred to area hospitals, police said.

Tarpinian-Jachym succumbed to his injuries at the hospital on Tuesday, according to Metropolitan Police.

“The preliminary investigation indicates that multiple suspects exited a vehicle at the intersection of 7th and M Street, Northwest and began firing at a group. The suspect vehicle has been recovered,” Metropolitan Police said in its statement.

Tarpinian-Jachym would have been a senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst this fall. He was majoring in finance and minoring in political science, according to the statement from Estes.