“IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, POLICE SAY A 17-YEAR-OLD WAS INSIDE THE APARTMENT WHEN 14-YEAR-OLD ZYTINA MASON-BROWN WAS FATALLY SHOT… AND AUTHORITIES HAVE NOW ARRESTED HIM FOR MURDER AFTER INITIALLY CALLING THE DEATH ACCIDENTAL.
Zytina Mason-Brown was 14 years old.
She was an eighth grader living in Washington, D.C.
The teenager dreamed of becoming a beautician and a real estate agent.
On May 21, 2025, Mason-Brown was fatally shot inside an apartment across from Hechinger Mall.
The shooting took place at the Benning Courts Pentacle complex in the 1700 block of Benning Road Northeast.
Police initially characterized the fatal incident as an accident.
According to police at the time, Mason-Brown had apparently shot herself while recording a video for social media.
Her family did not believe that account.
Mason-Brown’s relatives said that they did not believe she accidentally shot herself.
From the beginning, the family questioned the narrative presented by investigators.
They spent months insisting Mason-Brown did not take her own life.
Then came the finding from medical examiners.
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In August 2025, months after the shooting, the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner officially ruled Mason-Brown’s death a homicide.
“We knew that Zytina did not kill herself,” her aunt Dawna Cooke told FOX5DC.
“And I really want to thank the Metropolitan Police Department for fighting so hard to come to the conclusion and get the suspect in custody,” Cooke added.
Police have taken a 17-year-old male suspect into custody in connection with Mason-Brown’s death.
Authorities allege the teenager was inside the apartment when Mason-Brown was fatally shot.
The arrest marks a major turn in the investigation.
Mason-Brown’s family says the arrest brings a measure of relief after their months of questioning the initial findings.
“I’m feeling — I don’t want to say happy because it’s not a joyous occasion, I just wish we didn’t have to go through this — but I’m feeling satisfied that D.C. police did apprehend the suspect,” Mason-Brown’s grandmother, Michelle Brown, told FOX5 DC.
“And they did their job on this one,” she added.
Details regarding the 17-year-old suspect’s identity have not been made public because of juvenile privacy laws.
Upcoming court dates have also been withheld under those statutes.
They had questioned the accident narrative.
They had an arrest.
The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.
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