D.C. Reporter Charnice Milton Shot Dead After Being Used as Human Shield

Charnice Milton, a Washington, D.C. based journalist was fatally shot on Thursday night when the intended target of the bullet used her as a human shield, police and family members said. She was traveling home and family members said they believe she was transferring buses at the time of the shooting.

D.C. police Chief Cathy Lanier told reporters that 27-year old Milton was in the “wrong place, wrong time” and was “certainly not the intended victim.” According to WJLA-TV, there were four other people injured after a series of overnight shootings in D.C.



Milton grew up in the neighborhood and dedicated her craft to telling the stories of community members at Capital Community News. Her father Ken McClenton told WJLA-TV, "She could have worked at any news media organization she wanted to. She had the credentials, she had the expertise, she had the knowledge, but she sacrificed and she stayed and wrote in Ward 8.”

“Not only did they gun down a young woman, they also silenced one of our reporters,” Andrew Lightman, the managing editor of Capital Community News, told the Washington Post. “I think it’s a real loss not only for us and her family but also the communities that she covered.”

"I pray for the person who did this," her mother Francine Milton said. "I pray for them."

Both the shooter and intended victim fled the scene. No one has been arrested.

Photo: NBC Washington

Deonna Anderson is an Oregon-based visual journalist and editorial assistant at For Harriet. Connect with her @iamDEONNA.