Washington carjacking crime spree claims life of former Trump official

WASHINGTON – A former Trump administration official died after he was shot by a man on a carjacking spree throughout the nation's capital and Maryland a week ago that left one other victim dead, the Metropolitan Police Department announced in a statement on Sunday.

Michael Gill, who served under Trump as the chief of staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, died on Saturday after he was shot in his car on Jan. 29 during a spree of violent crime carried out over the course of one night.

The Maryland Office of the Attorney General later identified the suspect as Artell Cunningham, 28, of Suitland, Maryland, who died after an officer-involved shooting early the next morning.

Gill, 56, became the first victim of the crime spree when Cunningham climbed into his car and shot him in the early evening while he was parked in downtown Washington across the street from the historic Carnegie Library building. Cunningham then got out of the car and fled the scene.

Cunningham is accused of an unsuccessful carjacking attempt less than 2 miles from where Gill was shot. Police say he then approached 35-year-old Alberto Vasquez Jr. and a woman in the northeast part of the city near Union Market. He demanded Vasquez hand over his car keys, and then shot him and fled in his car. Vasquez died later at a hospital.

Cunningham drove Vasquez's vehicle to neighboring Prince George's County in Maryland, where police say he carried out another two carjackings and fired shots at a police cruiser while driving one of the stolen vehicles on a Maryland highway.

New Carrollton police officers spotted one of the stolen vehicles later that night parked at a location around 4 miles northeast of the Maryland-Washington border. When they got out to check the car, Cunningham approached carrying two firearms, according to the Maryland Attorney General's Office. The officers fired at him and struck him, and he died later at a hospital.

Gill was a St. Louis native who came to the nation's capital in 1993 after graduating from the University of Dayton, his wife, Kristina Gill, wrote in a statement. He served three terms on the D.C. Board of Elections and coached youth soccer, she said.

"Mike was not only a devoted husband and father but also a cherished son, brother, and friend," she said. "Over the course of his remarkable life, Mike brought people together and made them feel included, supported, and loved."

At the time of his death, Gill served as a senior vice president of the Housing Policy Council, a trade association.

"No words can express the depth of sympathy we feel for Mike and his family," Housing Policy Council President Ed DeMarco said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with his wife Kristina and their three children, Sean, Brian, and Annika, his mother, and siblings as they deal with this tragic loss."

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Carjackings spike in nation's capital

Gill's death comes amidst a wave of violent car theft in Washington that saw carjackings nearly double in 2023, as compared with the year before.

The carjacking spike drew national attention after Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar and an FBI agent had their cars stolen by armed suspects within a two-month period last fall.

The FBI confirmed that one of its agents was carjacked by two armed assailants on Nov. 29. A 17-year-old was later arrested in connection with the incident.

Cuellar's car was stolen by three armed suspects on Oct. 2 from a location near the Capitol building. Police have not announced arrests in the case.

Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her by email at cmayesosterman@usatoday.com. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.