Tyriq Williams Pleads Guilty to Fatal Shooting of Terry Clark

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

WASHINGTON – Tyriq Williams, 31, of the District of Columbia, pleaded guilty today to second-degree murder for the 2023 shooting murder of Terry Clark, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). 

Superior Court Judge Todd E. Edelman accepted the factual basis for the plea and scheduled sentencing for July 19, 2025. The guilty plea, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval at sentencing, called for an agreed-upon prison sentence of between 14 and 18 years, followed by a period of supervised release. 

On January 7, 2023, the defendant and his girlfriend encountered Mr. Clark on an escalator leaving the Navy Yard Metro Station. The defendant and Mr. Clark did not know each other. After both men left the station, Williams turned around and shot Mr. Clark one time, causing his death. The defendant then went back into the station and took the train to Congress Heights Metro Station, where he took a bus to his place of employment. Williams told a friend that he needed a ride, and his friend picked the defendant up and drove him to the bus stop, where Williams got back on the same bus that he previously rode. The shooting was not captured on video, but law enforcement located the defendant on other video surveillance, including Washington Metro Area Transit Authority surveillance around the metro station and on the bus.  After an investigation, Williams was apprehended, and detectives found, pursuant to a search warrant of the defendant’s home, distinctive clothing that he wore on the night of the shooting.

Williams has been in custody since his arrest on January 20, 2023.

This case is being investigated by detectives and other personnel of the Metropolitan Police Department and Metro Transit Police Department. 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Molly K. Smith and Jamie Carter. This case was investigated by former Assistant U.S. Attorney John Interrante.