Brush High School graduate and The Temple-Tifereth Israel member Matthew Castrol Shlonsky was fatally shot in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 14, according to D.C. police. U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, called the shooting “a terrible tragedy.” Shlonsky interned for Portman’s office in 2013.
“Matt’s death robs his family, friends, our congregation, the Jewish people and the human family of a cherished, precious soul,” Richard A. Block, senior rabbi at The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood and Cleveland, wrote in an e-mail.
According to The Associated Press and the Washington Metropolitan Police Department’s Twitter page, Shlonsky was shot on the 1800 block of Seventh Street NW at approximately 4:48 p.m. Aug. 14. Police told reporters that the man was transported to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
The AP reported that police are seeking a burgundy Chrysler 300 with a Maryland registration seen fleeing the scene, and are offering up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.
Shlonsky recently graduated from American University, and taught at the Washington Hebrew Congregation, according to Rabbi Block.
At Brush, he excelled as captain of the Arcs hockey team.
According to his Facebook page, Shlonsky was from Lyndhurst.
“This is a terrible tragedy,” Portman said in a statement. “Matt was a talented young man with a bright future who was taken from us too soon.”
According to the social network LinkedIn, Shlonsky was working as a business analyst at Deloitte, a consulting firm where he worked in communications and content creation.
“This is a heartbreaking, horrifying, senseless tragedy,” Block wrote. “Matt was a terrific young man: warm, sweet, intelligent, thoughtful, conscientious, funny, socially aware and Jewishly committed. He always had a smile on his face. Matt was a genuine mensch.”
