D.C. Man Sentenced For Fatally Gunning Down A Teenager In 2019

Sunday, July 13, 2025, 8:00 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

WASHINGTON, DC.- On Friday, a 24-year-old Washington, D.C., man found out he will be spending the next two-and-a-half decades in prison, after being sentenced for fatally gunning down a 16-year-old boy in Southeast, D.C., in September of 2019.

     According to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, on Friday, July 11, 2025, Bernard Eddy, 24, of Washington, D.C., appeared in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan to 25 years in federal prison, to be followed by a term of supervised release for the September 10, 2019, shooting death of Steffen Brathwaite, 16, of Southeast, D.C.

     On April 22, 2025, following a trial, a Superior Court Jury found Eddy guilty of second-degree Murder While Armed and Related Weapons Offenses. During Friday’s sentencing hearing, the U.S. Attorney’s Office requested that Eddy be sentenced to a term of 31 years, but Judge Ryan denied the request.

According To Evidence Presented At Trial

     According to the evidence presented at trial, just shortly after midnight on September 10, 2019, Eddy approached Steffen on the 3000 Block of 24th Place in Southeast, D.C., as Steffen was walking alone through the Southeast neighborhood. Eddy, who was armed with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, fired multiple gunshots, striking Steffen numerous times. As Steffen fell to the ground, Eddy fled the scene.

     The evidence presented by the U.S. Attorney’s Office included a 15-second video found on Eddy’s cellular phone, which was recovered just eight days after the killing. In the recording, which was made around three hours after the shooting, Eddy is shown celebrating Steffen’s murder.

     Following being identified, Eddy was located and taken into custody on January 6, 2023, and has remained in custody since that date.