Mother of Erik Tarpinyan-Yahima, This summer, a 21-year-old University of Massachusetts student and intern from the District of Columbia was shot and killed. watched the news report about two national guardsmen shot and killed in a targeted attack this week.
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that one of the guardsmen died from his injuries. Another remains in critical condition.
This photo provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, shows National Guard member Specialist Sarah Beckstrom. (U.S. Attorney's Office via AP)
Trump cited Tarpinian-Jachim's death and other violent crimes when deploying the National Guard throughout the city this summer.
Tamara Tarpinyan-Yachim received a notification about the shooting on her phone on Wednesday. She told Boston 25 the shooting happened a mile from where her son was shot four times and killed on a city sidewalk.
“This is a difficult day for our family,” she said Thursday. “But it’s a difficult day for another family.”
After receiving the notice on Wednesday, she explained: “I started shaking. I started crying… I said, 'Oh my God.'”
Her family celebrated their first Thanksgiving Thursday without her son Eric.
“It was like I was reliving the moment when I had to go to the morgue and look at Eric,” she told Boston 25. “I wasn't in the hospital to hold my son's hand when he passed away. I didn't even know he was there.”
Since his death, she has advocated for increased security in Washington and across the country.
She encouraged others to speak out against the violence, concluding: “I don't care if they're senators. I don't care if they're congressmen. I don't care if they're protesting. Until it hits their families, they won't understand.”
Last month three teenagers were arrested in connection with the death of Tarpinian-Jachim.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned for updates as more information becomes available.
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