Jamillah Gales, 25, was shot and killed late the night of Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in a rear alley on the 600 block of Kenyon Street NW in Northwest Washington, D.C. Police say an argument between Gales and a man turned into gunfire; she was found unconscious and not breathing and was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities reported she had no fixed address.

Detectives learned Gales had been with her 2-year-old son shortly before the shooting. An AMBER Alert was issued early Wednesday; the child was located unharmed within about an hour inside a nearby residence on Kenyon Street and taken to a hospital as a precaution. Police said the child was found with the suspected killer and another adult man; that second man was questioned and later determined not to be involved in the homicide.

Police identified and arrested 28-year-old Hakeem Jones of Northwest D.C. on April 22. Charging documents and surveillance video reportedly place Jones and Gales together before they entered the alley, where a brief physical altercation preceded the shooting. Jones was initially charged with second-degree murder while armed and later prosecuted on a first-degree murder while armed charge; a judge found probable cause and ordered him detained without bond. Investigators had not publicly determined a motive or fully explained the relationship between Gales and Jones.

Did anyone in the Kenyon Street area see Jamillah or her son the night of April 21?