PONTIAC, Mich. – A Pontiac mother is pleading for answers after her 25-year-old son was shot and killed inside his bedroom -- in front of her -- Sunday night and leaving behind two young children.
Brian Keith Washington Jr. was inside his home on Central Avenue near Woodward Avenue and South Boulevard around 10 p.m. May 24 when gunfire erupted outside, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responding to the scene found Washington in his room with a gunshot wound to the neck and not breathing. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators said shell casings were found outside the bedroom window.
Now, just days later, Washington’s mother, Ann Black, is still replaying the moments when her life was shattered.
‘This is something I will never get over’
“He took his last breath in his room,” Black said, standing just outside the home where the shooting happened. “This is something I will never get over.”
Black said she and her oldest son were sitting in the living room when the gunfire started. Other family members, including Washington’s young son, were also inside the home.
“He closed his door, and me and my son heard pop, pop, pop, and we thought it was firecrackers,” she said. Then, she said, wood flew off the wall and glass shattered.
Moments later, she heard screaming from Washington’s child’s mother.
“He’s shot,” Black recalled hearing before rushing toward the room.
Black said Washington had been shot in the neck and, later she learned, in the side of his torso.
“I see my son’s eyes roll back, and I knew he was gone,” she said. “He had too much blood in his mouth.”
‘I want my dad’
Washington leaves behind a 4-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son. Black said her grandson keeps asking who took his dad from him.
“He wants to know who killed his dad,” Black said. “He keeps saying, ‘I just want to know who killed my dad. I want my dad.’”
She said trying to explain the loss to young children has been unbearable.
“I hate to see a kid suffer,” she said. “I’d rather suffer than my grandkids.”
The sheriff’s office has not announced any suspects at last check Thursday, but Black says it’s clear her son was targeted.
“If you walk on the side, you can see the bullet holes,” she said, pointing to the outside of the home. “Whoever did it was looking in to see just where to shoot. They knew where my son sits. It’s somebody that knew my son.”
Black described her son as a devoted father and son who constantly checked on his family, and neighbors in the normally quiet neighborhood have also expressed shock over the shooting, she said.
As police continue to investigate, Black said she’s confident her son’s killer will be found -- she just needs some help.
“I’ve got faith that Oakland County is going to find out who killed my son,” she said. “I believe it.”
Anyone with information about the shooting or who may have heard or seen something in the area around 10 p.m. Sunday is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAKUP.
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
Donations, candlelight vigil and balloon release
If you’d like to donate to Washington’s family, you can click here.
There will also be a candlelight vigil and balloon release Sunday, May 31, in Pontiac at 5 p.m. Attendees are asked to bring blue balloons and candles.
Anyone who would like to bring a dish, a drink, plates or something to share is welcome to do so. A $2 or $5 donation is also appreciated.