Police offer $25,000 reward in fatal shooting of Capitol Heights teen
Police are offering up to $25,000 for tips in Daijah Cherry’s killing after the 18-year-old was shot on Doewood Lane and died at a hospital.
Prince George’s County police are asking Capitol Heights residents to help solve the killing of 18-year-old Daijah Cherry, and investigators are putting up to $25,000 on the table for information that leads to an arrest and indictment. Cherry, of Washington, D.C., was found with gunshot wounds in the 1400 block of Doewood Lane in unincorporated Capitol Heights and later died at a hospital.
Police said the shooting happened around 11:05 p.m. Friday, June 19, and the case quickly became a homicide investigation. The Prince George’s County Police Department’s Homicide Unit is handling the investigation and still working to identify the suspect or suspects and determine a motive.
The reward offer matters because the county says homicide cases may qualify for payments of up to $25,000, while its general tip rewards are up to $2,500. Residents with information can call the Homicide Unit at 301-516-2512 or submit a tip through Prince George’s County Crime Solvers, including through the P3 Tips app.
Cherry’s killing has also taken on a personal dimension for family and friends. A GoFundMe fundraiser described her as a recent graduate and said she was loved by her family and friends, underscoring how quickly a late-night shooting turned into a devastating loss for people who knew her.
The location adds another layer to the case. Capitol Heights is an incorporated town in Prince George’s County, but the shooting happened in the unincorporated section of Capitol Heights, which places the investigation with county police rather than a town department. The community, incorporated in 1910, has long been split by that distinction, even as residents share the same streets, schools and social ties.
The shooting also comes as county leaders have pointed to lower violent crime and homicide numbers in 2025 compared with 2024. Even so, Cherry’s death shows how a single homicide can still shake a neighborhood and test whether a public appeal, along with a substantial reward, can produce the one witness account or phone record that moves the case forward.
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