Tamara Jachym, the mother of slain congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's clean-up of Washington, D.C., crime "needs to be done" so people in the nation's capital can feel safe leaving their homes after 5 p.m.
Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, was gunned down on June 30 not far from the White House, an innocent victim of a drive-by shooting between rival groups, police said. He was an intern for Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan. When Trump announced his plans to make D.C. safer, he cited Tarpinian-Jachym's case as a recent example of violence in the city.
"I think it needs to be done," Jachym told Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "Anyone who doesn't want to live in a safe environment, then maybe they should move somewhere else, to another country that is full of chaos. This is what's happening in D.C. You know, I listen to some of the newscasts and a lot of the elders, they want this to happen. They don't feel safe leaving their houses, the elderly people, after 5 p.m.
"It's for a month," she said of Trump's initiative. "They [D.C.'s police force] are 800 police officers short. This will give the others time to work on cases. Detectives on homicides, go out into the field. This will help the police officers do their job. The council needs to stop babying these children that do violent crime. The mayor needs to get on board. This would have never happened if all of them did their job."
Visibly emotional during her appearance, Jachym said she was "doing this for Eric, so he's not forgotten" and because she wants to see those responsible for her son's death apprehended.
Up until last week, Tarpinian-Jachym was unidentified in the hospital records where he was treated following the shooting.
"He was a John Doe until last week at the hospital," Jachym said. "Now Eric has a name, and I didn't know that. I called to see if they gave him the last rites, because, of course, we weren't there, and we didn't know what happened, and they said, 'Who?' I gave them the name, and they go, 'Oh.' I told them the time he died, and they said, 'Oh, well, we have his name now.' So, it really made me feel good that his name is now documented across everything, his medical record, and he's not just a John Doe to the police department or anyone else now. He's Eric Tarpinian-Jachym."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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