DC police arrest suspect in teen's death after months of uncertainty

A measure of relief finally washes over Zytina Mason-Brown's family after police arrested a suspect in her killing, ending months of painful uncertainty for those who insisted she did not take her own life. Authorities now hold a 17-year-old male teen inside the apartment where the tragedy unfolded at the Benning Courts Pentacle complex on Benning Road Northeast across from Hechinger Mall.

Michelle Brown, Mason-Brown's grandmother, spoke to FOX5 DC about the emotional weight of this moment. She admitted she does not want to call it a happy day because joy feels wrong for such a loss. Instead, she expressed satisfaction that D.C. police finally caught the suspect and did their job on this case.

The arrest signals a massive shift in a story the family questioned from day one. Zytina was just an eighth grader with big dreams of becoming a beautician and real estate agent when she died inside her home on May 21, 2025. Police originally claimed it was an accident involving a video recording for social media, but that narrative never sat right with anyone close to the girl.

Her aunt Dawna Cooke refused to accept the suicide theory ever since the shooting occurred months prior. She told FOX5DC that her family knew Zytina did not kill herself and wants to thank the Metropolitan Police Department for fighting hard to reach this conclusion and secure the suspect's custody. The official ruling finally came in August 2025 when the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner declared it a homicide.

Specific details about who the arrested teen is or when he will face court remain hidden behind juvenile privacy laws that shield his identity from public view until then. This delay has left loved ones waiting, but the arrest brings closure to their long ordeal. The community now knows the truth about what happened on that fateful day inside the apartment building.