It has been more than a decade since 14-year-old Said Yassir Abdur-Raqib was shot to death in Northwest Washington.
Said was found in his upstairs bedroom on the 700 block of Somerset Place NW. His brother discovered him at about 8 p.m. on March 21, 1999, after Said had been shot in the face.
Said died 30 minutes later at Washington Hospital Center.
At the time, a weapon found in the house was turned over to police. A medical examiner said that based on an autopsy, it appeared Said’s wounds had not been self-inflicted.
The 14-year-old was the son of community activist and former school board member Valencia Mohammed. Said was the second youngest of her six children.
Said was attending Cardozo High School in Northwest at the time of his death.
People familiar with the teen described him as kind and well mannered. At the time of his death, Said’s mother recalled how he would help neighbors carrying groceries without hesitation.
After Said’s death, Mohammed moved to an apartment with a concierge, hoping that a doorman and a different neighborhood would keep her remaining children safe.
But since then, Mohammed has lost another son to D.C. gun violence. Her third-born child, Imtiaz Mohammed, was shot and killed in 2006 at the age of 23, also in the District. As a result, Mohammed founded Mothers of Unsolved Murders, a support group for women who have experienced tragedies similar to her own.
Anyone with information pertaining to the deaths of Said or his brother Imtiaz is asked to call D.C. police at 202-727-4347.
