As police continue to search for whoever killed a Germantown teenager in April, a local group is providing extra incentive for a potential tipster.
The Victims’ Rights Foundation (VRF), a Gaithersburg-based community service organization, has pledged a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to the arrest of the killer.
“Any time a life is lost, it’s a shame, but especially a teenager who just graduated from high school, and killed in his own community,” VRF Founder Gregory Wims said.
Wims said the organization is the largest volunteer group in Montgomery County supporting crime victims.
VRF received national attention in 2002 after raising $500,000 for the 12 victims in the D.C. sniper shootings. The foundation has raised more than $1 million since its inception in 1996.
The $2,000 from VRF joins a reward of up to $10,000 already offered through the county police department’s Crime Solvers program.
Tray Dawkins, 18, was gunned down in a parking lot in the 18700 block of Curry Powder Lane on April 16, police said. Detectives have yet to identify a suspect in the incident, but do not believe the shooting was random.
Four victims were standing in the lot when someone opened fire, police said. Two males were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries from gunshot wounds.
Police soon identified two more males who left the scene to get to a local hospital. One had non-life-threatening injuries, Dawkins was the other.
Dawkins was a 2018 graduate of Northwest High School, where he played football and ran track and field.
Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@moco360.media
