Share and Follow
Background: The scene of the shooting in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 2026 (WJLA/YouTube). Insets (from top to bottom): Mhilo Young and Tyale Coates (Metropolitan Police Department).
A family in Washington, D.C. is mourning the loss of their teenage son, described as “sheltered,” after he and a friend were fatally shot while getting lunch from a food truck, authorities report.
The victims, Tyale Coates, 14, and Mhilo Young, 12, were tragically killed earlier this month, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. As of now, no arrests have been made in connection with the double homicide.
The incident occurred on April 14 at approximately 3:25 p.m. The two boys were at a food truck located on the 700 block of Kenilworth Avenue in the northeast section of Washington, D.C., a neighborhood where both were residents.
Tyale’s family shared with local ABC affiliate WJLA that he had a strict 7:30 p.m. curfew and was not typically permitted to be outside unsupervised in his neighborhood. His mother usually accompanied him everywhere, but recently his parents had allowed him the newfound independence of taking the bus home from school.
On the day of the shooting, Tyale had asked his mother for permission to visit the new food truck nearby to grab something to eat, a request she granted.
“He had permission to be where he was at, and he just got there, ’cause I was just on the phone with his mom when he asked,” his aunt, Morgan Wingate, told the TV station.
Seconds after he got his food, multiple people started firing guns at someone in the parking lot, police said. Sixty shots were fired, and Tyale and Mhilo were both struck.
Officers arrived on the scene to find both boys with gunshot wounds. Tyale was pronounced dead at the scene, while Mhilo was brought to an area hospital, where he died.
Wingate said Tyale’s mother called her. “She was screaming. She was screaming,” she recounted. “I’m like, ‘what?’ She was like, ‘They shot my son.’”
Tyale’s family said he loved to fish with his uncles and dad and was just starting to learn how to drive.
The Metropolitan Police Department is offering a $50,000 reward “for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible” for the homicides. Anyone with information is asked to contact them at (202) 727-9099.