Antonio Hawley, 22, was found guilty by a Superior Court jury of first-degree murder of Aaron Wiggins in the case of a shooting that took place on the field of Watkins Elementary School (400 12 St. SE) in 2021. US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced the decision on Feb. 3.
According to the government’s evidence, on the evening of Oct. 6, 2021, Hawley and the homicide victim, Aaron Wiggins, had just finished playing against each other in a flag football scrimmage on the sports field of Watkins Elementary School.
After the field lights cut off as usual at 9:45 p.m., the two teams decided to finish one last play. Wiggins caught the winning touchdown.
Throughout the game, there was the usual football trash talk, and that trash talk continued between Wiggins and members of Hawley’s team after that final play.
As members of both flag football teams were gathering their belongings to leave the field, Hawley retrieved a handgun that he knew a teammate kept in a bag that had been brought onto the field at the start of the scrimmage, targeted Wiggins and fired 17 times. He shot Wiggins 13 times.
Wiggins died on the scene.
Hawley fled the scene but was later identified through eyewitness accounts and video footage from the school and arrested by Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Homicide Detectives investigating the case. Hawley was arrested in December 2021 and has been held in custody since.
Hawley was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder while armed, one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of carrying a pistol without a license. The Honorable Judge Danya Dayson scheduled sentencing for April 10, 2026.
