A violent intruder ended the life of 28-year-old Erik King in the predawn hours of October 11, 2022, in a Northeast Washington, D.C., apartment on 21st Street. King was inside a bedroom with a female companion when a man later identified as Marcus Walker forced through the locked door, ignored pleas to leave, and fired a handgun, striking King in the chest and groin. Responders found King with grave injuries around 5:31 a.m.; he was taken to a hospital and died of his wounds.

Police say Walker had been living in the apartment’s living room and was the ex-boyfriend of the woman King was with. In the hour before the shooting, Walker allegedly sent increasingly agitated text messages about her new relationship with King, then forced entry into the bedroom. A six-year-old child was in the room and witnessed the attack. King’s family remembered him as a loving, protective figure raised by an aunt after the early loss of his parents; he leaves eight siblings and other relatives to mourn.

Anyone who knew Erik King, the people he spent time with, or who has information about the October 11, 2022, shooting is asked to come forward.