Ashlei Hinds was 18 and a freshman at Louisiana State University when she was fatally shot at a New Year’s Eve gathering at an Embassy Suites in the Friendship Heights area of Washington, D.C. The shooting occurred in the early hours of January 1, 2024, after an argument on the hotel’s seventh floor. Witnesses said an 18-year-old male, Jelani Cousin, had been making unwanted advances toward an intoxicated woman and, after being asked to leave, displayed a handgun and threatened to blow the room up. Two shots were later fired from the hallway, one penetrating the door and striking Hinds in the chest and shoulder; she died at the scene.

Surveillance images released by police led to the arrest of Jelani Cousin on January 2, 2024; he was charged with second-degree murder while armed and a judge found probable cause at a February preliminary hearing. Hinds graduated from Henry A. Wise Jr. High School, served as student body president, was on the honor roll, and had been studying sports administration with aspirations to work as a sports agent or athletic director. Her family described her as a beautiful soul and held a funeral where attendees wore purple in her memory.

If anyone witnessed the events in the hotel hallway or has information about that night, please share what can help the investigation.