Toddler Found Alone After Mother's Death

A Young Mother Shot Dead in Washington, D.C., Her Toddler Missing

Jamillah Gales, 25, was shot and killed on a Northwest Washington, D.C., street late on the night of April 21, 2026, and her 2-year-old son went missing in the hours that followed, prompting an Amber Alert that ended when the child was found unharmed the next morning - and the man police charged with his mother’s murder was found nearby with the boy, according to Metropolitan Police Department officials.

Officers responded to the 600 block of Kenyon Street NW at approximately 10:52 p.m. on April 21 after receiving reports of a shooting and found Gales unconscious and unresponsive, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators determined she had been with her 2-year-old son shortly before the shooting, and the child was nowhere to be found.

An Amber Alert and a Search Through the Night

Metropolitan Police issued an Amber Alert for the child in the early hours of April 22. The alert prompted a search throughout the Northwest D.C. neighborhood and surrounding areas.

Shortly before 11 a.m. on April 22, investigators located the child unharmed in a residence near the Kenyon Street shooting scene. Hakeem Jones, 28, was found at that location with the child and another man. Jones was taken into custody shortly after noon.

Who Was Jamillah Gales

Jamillah Gales was 25 years old and the mother of the 2-year-old boy who was found safe after the Amber Alert. Details about Gales’s life beyond her age and residency in Northwest D.C. were not released in initial law enforcement statements.

Her death came in the late hours of a Tuesday evening on a residential block of Kenyon Street. Family members and friends have not made public statements in available reporting at the time of this article’s publication.

The Suspect: Hakeem Jones

Hakeem Jones, 28, of Northwest Washington, D.C., was arrested on April 22 and initially charged with second-degree murder. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia subsequently upgraded the charge to first-degree murder while armed, reflecting the office’s assessment that the killing was premeditated.

Jones was ordered held without bond at his first court appearance. Court records show he had two prior convictions for unlawfully carrying a firearm in the District of Columbia and had been incarcerated until March 6, 2026 - less than seven weeks before the killing.

Charges and Legal Proceedings

Jones faces a charge of first-degree murder while armed under D.C. Code. A conviction on that charge carries the possibility of life in prison. He has not been convicted, and the case is in its early stages.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office decision to upgrade the charge from second-degree to first-degree murder reflects prosecutors’ conclusion that the killing was deliberate rather than the product of sudden violence. No additional suspects were identified in connection with the shooting, according to available law enforcement statements.

A Child Found Safe, a Family Left Grieving

The 2-year-old boy found safe at the apartment near the shooting scene was taken into protective custody and was reported to be unharmed. His survival amid the chaos of the night brought some relief to the community, even as his mother’s death left an irreparable loss.

The case drew significant attention in Washington because of the Amber Alert and the age of the child involved. Gales’s death leaves behind a toddler who will grow up without his mother, and a community that has been reminded, again, of the human cost of street violence.

References: Woman Killed, Missing 2-Year-Old Son Found Safe in DC | DC Man Charged With Killing Young Mother Identified, Held in Jail