National Press Club Statement On Shooting of Journalist Charnice Milton

Following is a statement by John Hughes, President of the National Press Club on the shooting death yesterday of Charnice Milton, a reporter for Capital Community News.

"It was with great sadness that we read of the shooting death of Charnice Milton, a reporter for Capital Community News working in the District. Ms. Milton was shot at 9:40 p.m. Wednesday while at a bus stop at Good Hope Road and Alabama Avenue. She was reportedly coming from covering a Community Advisory Committee meeting. She was heading home and changing buses when she was struck by a bullet and killed. Police have said she was not the intended victim and was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Police are also calling for people to come forward with information in this case.

"Ms. Milton was a graduate of Syracuse University with a Masters Degree. She wrote for The Hill Rag and East of the River. She lived with her mother who is a teacher at a charter school in the District. She was doing journalism that needed to be done and had a bright future in the field.

"This tragedy reminds us all that reporters live and work in a world filled with danger and that careers and lives can end early and with no warning – in dangerous locations overseas or on the streets of DC simply commuting from work as it seems was the case with Ms. Milton. We ask all journalists to pause for a moment and to reflect on Ms. Milton for the work she was doing and for the career and stories she was bound for before her life ended in this tragic manner.

Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists, with more than 3,100 members worldwide.