Bowie teen killed in D.C. apartment shooting involving unsecured gun

The death of 15-year-old Journee Long of Bowie has turned a Southeast Washington apartment shooting into a Prince George’s County tragedy, raising urgent questions about how an unsecured gun got into the hands of two teenagers. Long had just celebrated her 15th birthday on May 28, and her killing has left her family and community facing a loss that reaches far beyond the 900 block of Barnaby Street SE.

Metropolitan Police said officers responded to the apartment at about 6:53 p.m. Saturday, June 6, and found a juvenile female unconscious and not breathing with a critical gunshot wound. D.C. Fire and EMS pronounced her dead at the scene. Investigators said two juveniles had accessed an illegal and unsecured firearm inside the apartment, and that one juvenile manipulated the gun, causing it to discharge and fatally strike the other juvenile. The teen who had the firearm was not injured.

Police later identified the victim as Long and said the Homicide Branch is investigating the shooting with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Long lived in Prince George’s County and attended Charles Herbert Flowers High School, placing this case squarely in the daily life of families who send children between Bowie, school, and the District every day.

Metropolitan Police said the owner of the firearm was 33-year-old J’Von Green of Southeast Washington. Green was arrested and charged with possession of an unregistered firearm and ammunition, carrying a pistol without a license, and criminally negligent storage of a firearm. Police also said Green is the godfather of the teen who was handling the gun. That detail has sharpened concern around how often children and teens gain access to weapons in homes where adults are expected to keep them secure.

The case echoes a wider public safety problem that hits close to home for Prince George’s County. CDC data show firearm injuries were the leading cause of death among children and teens ages 1 to 19 in 2022, and research from the agency found that about half of unintentional firearm deaths among children and adolescents happened at home. Everytown Research said 2023 was the worst year on record for unintentional shootings by children, with more than 400 incidents tracked nationwide. In the wake of Long’s death, the question for local officials in Prince George’s County and Washington is not only how this happened, but what more can be done to keep another family from receiving the same call.