Another person’s death was recorded in the city’s anonymized Human Services data on coronavirus.dc.gov/data today. They were the second this year, increasing the total number of people in the homeless services system who are known to have died from the virus to 25. The other unidentified individual’s death was first recorded on Feb. 8.
Two more people died in the cold this month.
A man whose name has not been released died while sleeping on the Columbia Heights Civic Plaza, according to a tweet from Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau. D.C. EMS personnel administered CPR to no avail and he was pronounced dead on the scene in the early hours of Feb. 11. The weather was listed as “sleet or hail” on the police report.
I am deeply saddened to share that we lost a member of our community last night. A man who was sleeping on the Columbia Heights Civic Plaza has died. We do not have more information at this time and MPD is still trying to reach next of kin.
— Brianne K. Nadeau (@BrianneKNadeau) February 11, 2021
Six days later, Angela Hill, who had made her home under the John Philip Sousa Bridge for years, was found dead by a community member who had come to check on her. Mayor Bowser said during a briefing the next day that the cold had contributed to Hill’s death. She was 58.
Two others were killed.
On Feb. 7, Sean Burgess was struck and killed in Foggy Bottom by a driver heading east on E Street NW, at the 1800 block where the four-lane road threads between a large park with a fountain and a federal office building. He was 42. The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the crash. The time of Burgess’s death aligns with an anonymous tip Street Sense Media received that a resident of a tent encampment two blocks away had been hit and killed.
Around 4 a.m on Feb. 11, approximately three hours after the man died in Columbia Heights, Dennis Hall was found suffering from stab wounds inside of a Subway sandwich shop near Union Station. He had no fixed address, according to the police report. MPD officers were responding to a call about an unconscious person. EMS personnel also responded but Hall was pronounced dead on the scene. He was 50.
If you have knowledge of either incident, information may be shared with MPD by calling (202) 727-9099 or texting 50411. In the case of Dennis Hall, MPD offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for any homicide committed in D.C.
Last year, at least 180 people died while experiencing homelessness in the District of Columbia, according to a report issued by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Dec. 15. There were 51 natural deaths caused mostly by cardiovascular disease or infection, nine homicides, four suicides, one person that drowned, 90 accidents caused mostly by intoxication, and 25 people whose cause and manner of death was either still pending or undetermined.
Street Sense Media aims to write an obituary for anyone who dies without housing in our community. If you knew any of these individuals and are willing to be interviewed, please contact [email protected].
