Vigil for Neil Michael Godleski, Wed. 8:30pm at Sherman Circle/CM Bowser Working on Getting Lights for the Circle

Neil Michael Godleski

For those who inquired about a vigil for the student murdered at Sherman Circle this past Sat. night, following are the details:

Dear Petworth Neighbors:

Join us for a prayer vigil and moment of Silence for Neil Michael Godleski, a resident of the Petworth Neighborhood.

Day and Time: Wednesday Night August 25th at 8:30 PM
Place: Kansas Avenue, NW and Sherman Circle, NW.

Riding his bike home from a restaurant where he was working to pay his own way through college, Neil Michael Godleski, 31, was shot and killed shortly after 12:30am on Sunday morning near Sherman Circle NW. It appears he encountered someone that attempted to rob him.

Neil, was a student at Catholic University of America and worked at a restaurant in the Southwest waterfront. He loved languages and learned Portuguese and Polish and became a rafting guide in Maine and Massachusetts.

Join us at the scene as neighbors come together in unison to remember him and to pray for safer streets. Law abiding citizens should not have to fear for their own safety when in route to work, church or while coming from the grocery store.

We will join together in hopes of lifting our neighborhood to higher levels of peace and a better understanding of living and being compatible with one another.

Candles will be provided.

For additional information please contact:

Keith Jarrell [email protected] 202-288-1867 Cell
Or Damiana Astudillo [email protected]

Wednesday Night August 25th at 8:30 PM
Kansas Avenue, NW and Sherman Circle, NW.

On a side note: Council Member Bowser just released a note about getting lights in Sherman Circle:

““Residents of Petworth have long complained that NPS grounds within Sherman Circle are potentially dangerous after dark because of the lack of lighting,” said Bowser. “All around the Circle are street lights but within the park grounds there are none. Lighting needs to be installed with great urgency.”

Today at 3 P.M., Bowser will meet at Sherman Circle with Delegate Holmes Norton, the District Department of Transportation, and officials from the Metropolitan Police Department. She has also advised the electric company to be ready to energize the Circle as soon as the federal government decides what to do.”

Full press release after the jump.

Early Sunday morning, Neil Michael Godleski, a 31 year-old Catholic University student, was shot and killed near Sherman Circle NW while riding his bicycle. To help prevent future tragedies, Councilmember Bowser has called upon the National Park Service (NPS), which controls Sherman Circle, to immediately install lights.

“Residents of Petworth have long complained that NPS grounds within Sherman Circle are potentially dangerous after dark because of the lack of lighting,” said Bowser. “All around the Circle are street lights but within the park grounds there are none. Lighting needs to be installed with great urgency.”

Today at 3 P.M., Bowser will meet at Sherman Circle with Delegate Holmes Norton, the District Department of Transportation, and officials from the Metropolitan Police Department. She has also advised the electric company to be ready to energize the Circle as soon as the federal government decides what to do.

Until NPS decides whether it will install lights, an MPD tower has been erected to secure the area and Councilmember Bowser and DDOT will explore opportunities to increase lighting on the park’s periphery.

“I don’t know if Sunday morning’s tragedy would have been prevented if the Circle had adequate lighting. But, I do know that installing lights, and doing so now, will provide safer passages for adjacent neighbors, bus riders, walkers, and bicyclists.”

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at (202) 727-9099 or 1-888-919-CRIME (1-888-919-2746). MPD currently offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons wanted for any homicide committed in the District of Columbia.