Two people were injured, one critically, after a series of shootings and a carjacking in Prince George’s County on Friday afternoon, police said. The investigation prompted lockdowns at a handful of schools in the area.
Police said one person was taken into custody, and authorities said a suspect’s name would be released once formal charges were filed.
The incidents began at about 2:30 p.m. when police received a call about a man with a gun in the area of the 5100 block of Pierce Avenue, said Prince George’s County Police Chief George Nader.
Police said two more shootings happened within the next half-hour. At 2:51 p.m., a 64-year-old man was fired at. One round struck a glass window, causing cuts to the man’s head, Nader said.
Several minutes later, police got a call for a car accident at 67th Avenue and Patterson Street, Nader said.
A person inside the vehicle got out and began shooting at other people nearby, the police chief said. A man was struck by the gunfire, and at least four other people were shot at, Nader said.
Shortly after, Nader said, a woman was shot at and carjacked at the intersection of Kenilworth Avenue and Good Luck Road. An unarmed, off-duty Prince George’s County police officer witnessed the carjacking, the chief said.
Nader said the officer had been alerted by his wife, who is also a police officer, about an active shooter in the area.
The officer, though unarmed and in his personal vehicle, decided to follow the person he saw commit the carjacking, Nader said, “realizing that it was a life-threatening situation.”
The officer relayed information to his wife as he pursued the vehicle, and she shared it with others in the police department, Nader said.
In the 900 block of Edmonston Road, Nader said, the man got out of the vehicle and began firing shots at the off-duty Prince George’s police officer. U.S. Park Police, who had been monitoring radio communications on the incident, responded to the scene. Nader said the man pointed the weapon at them.
Police believe he ran out of bullets, and he then dropped the weapon, Nader said. The man was then arrested.
The department posted a photo to X of an AR-15 rifle that officers recovered.
The suspected shooter and two victims were taken to the hospital for treatment, said Prince George’s County Fire and EMS Chief Thelmetria Michaelides.
Nader said the alleged shooter’s injuries came from the car accident he was involved in.
The incident prompted lockdowns at a handful of schools.
“It was a very fluid incident, and it was spread out across our community,” Nader said. “But through the coordination of law enforcement, we were able to bring it to a quick end.”
Nader said there may be other victims and witnesses. He encouraged them to contact the police.
The department is coordinating with the FBI Baltimore Field Office, but Nader said that at this time, police don’t think the incident is terrorism related.
Earlier this year, the county was rocked by another seemingly random spate of shootings of four people in separate vehicles in the Upper Marlboro area, killing one and wounding two.
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