'Dagger into my heart': Grieving mom condemns politicization of her son's tragic death

Tamara Tarpinian‑Jachym, whose 21-year-old son was fatally shot earlier this month, said Friday her son’s death has been reduced to a "partisan issue" — mourned by Republicans but overlooked on the other side.

Eric Tarpinian‑Jachym, 21, a Congressional intern, lost his life in Washington, D.C., after being unintentionally caught in crossfire near the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on June 1. He was an intern the office of Rep. Ron Estes (R‑Kansas).

His mother, Tamara, shared her disappointment during the Howie Carr Show, noting that while she received a letter from President Donald Trump, she has not heard from Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D), nor from Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D‑Mass.) or Edward Markey (D‑Mass.), despite her son’s work alongside staffers of both parties.

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Tamara emphasized that Eric "liked people on both sides of the aisle… that letter just drove it home."

Eric’s internship started in early June. Police believe he was not the intended target but rather an innocent bystander in an altercation between rival groups; the Metropolitan Police are pursuing the investigation with a possible reward at stake, according to local media.

Tamara also thanked Rep. Richard Neal (D‑Mass.) and UMass President Marty Meehan for their outreach, lamenting that perceived silence from Democratic leaders has turned her grief into a partisan grievance:

“If he worked for a Dem, that call would have been made. That’s my opinion, no one can take that away from me," she said, in remarks highlighted by Boston media outlets.

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She expressed the pain of her family’s experience, saying: “It felt like someone took a dagger into my heart, put it in and twisted it.”