WASHINGTON, DC – Friday — A 17-year-old from Southeast Washington has pleaded guilty to unleashing more than a dozen gunshots at an elementary school playground and committing two separate armed carjackings, one of which took place in a grocery store parking garage.
Travis Thomas, who was charged as an adult under Title 16, entered the guilty plea Friday in D.C. Superior Court to one count of assault with intent to kill while armed and two counts of armed carjacking. Judge Neal Kravitz scheduled sentencing for November 14.
Prosecutors say Thomas opened fire on April 20 in the playground of C.W. Harris Elementary School after an online dispute escalated into real-world violence. Believing a rival was present at the school grounds, Thomas exited a vehicle in the 300 block of 53rd Street SE and fired over 15 rounds from a handgun.
One of the bullets struck a victim in the forehead. The individual survived but underwent surgery to remove the projectile and suffered a skull fracture.
Authorities later linked Thomas to two armed carjackings from late 2024. On October 30, he was identified as the suspect in an armed vehicle theft in the parking garage of a Safeway grocery store on 14th Street SE. Just weeks later, on November 17, Thomas allegedly carjacked another vehicle in the 1300 block of Massachusetts Avenue SE.
Thomas was arrested on April 25 and has remained in custody since. No information was released on the type of weapon used, nor whether others were involved in the incidents.
His sentencing could result in a lengthy prison term, although as a juvenile charged as an adult, his age may be considered in sentencing.
The case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
