An uncle’s grief: 15-year-old boy gunned down in Northeast DC

WASHINGTON ( DC News Now ) — Chris Bolden was both an uncle and father figure to his nephew, Victor Bolden, a 15-year-old high school freshman who still had a life to live ahead of him.

But that life, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officials said, was cut short on Saturday when Victor Bolden was shot and killed in Northeast D.C.

“What he meant to me … he was more than a nephew. He was like my son,” Chris Bolden said of Victor.

Chris Bolden said in an exclusive interview with DC News Now that he stepped into a bigger role in his nephew’s life when Victor Bolden’s namesake father was killed back in 2016. His nephew’s nickname was “Lil’ Tony” and his late father was called “Big Tony.”

“He had a hard time in school with his grades, and with his father passing,” Chris Bolden said. “So we had to stay on him a little extra and a little bit more.”

And then his grades went up, Chris Bolden said.

“They Went from D’s to A’s. He got on the honor roll at one point,” he said.

Chris Bolden said his nephew loved football, boxing and video games, and while he lived with his mother about 20 minutes away, the two kept in constant contact with each other.

Victor Bolden was on the cusp of starting a clothing line with the logo, “Too Young To Die,” before he was gunned down. The idea came from Victor Bolden seeing a few of his young peers pass away, one from violence, Chris Bolden said.

“It’s impacting me heavily,” he said. “It’s just it’s so many kids, that are dying in the streets.”

Chris Bolden said he became a protective uncle and sought to instill structure, discipline and an entrepreneurial spirit in his nephew.

He recalled the text Victor Bolden sent to him when they were discussing the clothing line.

“I feel like no matter how old you are, you’re still too young to die,” Victor Bolden wrote to his uncle.

The reality of Chris Bolden’s nephew being gone is still so shocking.

“I always expected my nephew to be here, especially with his father being gone,” Chris Bolden said. “What are the chances of it happening to his son, too?”

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