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D.C. Social Worker Killed By A Stray Bullet During His Commute Home From Work
Roger "Tom" Marmet was a recent college graduate and was working at an organization that helped poor and homeless people get back on their feet.
A Washington, D.C.-based social worker who helped homeless people and drug-dependent individuals was reportedly killed Wednesday after he was hit by a stray bullet while stopped at a traffic light.
Roger Marmet, who went by his middle name Tom, was only 22 when an unfortunate turn of events ended his life. The recent grad was on his way home from his job at a nonprofit dedicated to helping the district’s poor and homeless popuation as gunshots were fired around 6 p.m., according to a D.C. Metropolitan Police report obtained by ABC7.
A gunfire locator system known as a ShotSpotter detected the sound of the shooting and first responders rode to the scene, where Marmet was found unresponsive behind the wheel of his vehicle, police said. He was brought to a nearby hospital but pronounced dead shortly after.
"There were sounds of gunfire reported, and Tom was apparently caught in crossfire or [hit by] a random bullet," family spokesperson Jennifer Jackson said in a statement quoted by NBC4 in Washington.
Marmet was a native of Chevy Chase, Maryland, and had obtained a degree in social work at the University of Vermont in May, according to NBC4. He worked at an organization called SOME (So Others Might Eat) and assisted drug-dependent individuals in rejoining the workforce.
“We at SOME were proud to call Tom a colleague. Our community has lost an extraordinary young man to senseless gun violence. All of us who knew Tom, especially those volunteers who lived with him, will miss him greatly,” the organization tweeted on Thursday.
Marmet’s friends and family spoke of his kind and selfless nature.
"Tom was a bright, warm, caring and thoughtful young spirit," Jackson said, as quoted by NBC4. "Like so many other people killed by violence, his life was cut short at far too early of an age."
Marjo Talbott, the head of the prep school Marmet attended, told ABC7 that “he had a generosity of spirit” and was “the glue of his class.”
Marmet was the 135th homicide in Washington, D.C. this year, according to police data, which represents a 44 percent increase from the same time last year.
Police are offering a $25,000 reward for anybody that can offer information that leads to an arrest or conviction in the shooting, ABC7 reports.
[Photo Credit: Facebook]
