Five people are dead and seven others wounded after a bloody weekend in Prince George’s County.
The county was plagued by a series of unrelated shootings between Friday evening and Sunday morning. There was no pattern to the violence: Shootings were reported across the county, from Accokeek to Hyattsville. The victims ranged in age from a 17-year-old boy to an 83-year-old woman. Police said domestic disputes, drugs and robberies were all identified as potential motives.
“This department hasn’t slept for 72 hours,” Police Chief Mark Magaw said.
| Bloody weekend |
| 1. Friday, 9:46 p.m.: 1600 block of Brightseat Road, Landover |
| Brandon Wiggins, 17, of Capitol Heights, was shot and killed in a “gun battle” in an apartment complex parking lot. The surviving gunman had non-life-threatening injuries. |
| 2. Friday, 10:11 p.m.: 6700 block of Northwest Drive, Hyattsville |
| Triple nonfatal shooting. All victims had non-life-threatening injuries. |
| 3. Saturday, 1:21 a.m.: 2000 block of Woodberry Street, Lewisdale |
| Lester Amilcar Flores-Quintanilla, 19, of Alexandria, was shot and killed in possible robbery attempt. |
| 4. Saturday 7:06 p.m.: 3500 block of Terrace Drive, Suitland |
| Ashley McClurkin, 27, was shot in the head inside her own apartment by Audrea Blackwell, 24, of Temple Hills. |
| 5. Saturday, 11 p.m.: 4100 block of Danville Road, Accokeek |
| Dorothy Ogden, 83, was shot and killed by her 32-year-old granddaughter, Cristalina Warner. |
| 6. Sunday, 8:19 a.m. 2700 block of Judith Avenue, District Heights |
| 21-year-old David Shaw tried to rob six people and shot one; another victim wrestled the gun from Shaw and fatally shot him. Police believe the killing was a justifiable act of self-defense. |
| 7. Sunday, 11:31 a.m. Afton Street and 23rd Parkway, Hillcrest Heights |
| Nonfatal shooting during an attempted armed robbery. No suspect identified. |
| Source: Prince George’s County police |
The violence began at about 9:45 p.m. Friday, when 17-year-old Brandon Wiggins was fatally shot during a gun battle at a Landover apartment complex, police said. Another gunman was injured but is expected to survive.
A few hours later, 19-year-old Lester Amilcar Flores-Quintanilla was shot and killed in a possible robbery attempt while walking in a residential area in Lewisdale with two other men. Flores-Quintanilla was a member of the MS-13 gang, but investigators say they are not sure if that association played a role in his death, police said.
Saturday evening, 27-year-old Ashley McClurkin died after she was shot in the head during an argument with another woman at her Suitland apartment. Police said 24-year-old Audrea Blackwell, who also accidentally shot herself, was arrested.
At about 11 p.m. Saturday, police responded to an Accokeek home after 32-year-old Cristalina Warner reported her 83-year-old grandmother, Dorothy Ogden, missing. Authorities found Ogden wrapped in plastic and Warner confessed to shooting her, police said.
The final homicide happened during an attempted robbery at about 8:20 a.m. Sunday. Police said 21-year-old David Shaw tried to rob six people and shot one; another victim wrestled the gun from Shaw and fatally shot him. Police believe the killing was a justifiable act of self-defense.
Two other nonfatal shooting incidents were reported: Three people were shot after an argument in Hyattsville and one person was wounded during an attempted robbery in Hillcrest Heights.
The spate of shootings brought reminders of January 2011, when Prince George’s recorded 15 murders and one justifiable killing. After those slayings, extra officers were stationed in high-crime areas, particularly inside-the-Beltway neighborhoods, and FBI agents began embedding with the police department’s homicide squad.
Some officials and community activists say the weekend shootings show the county still has work to do. Teaching conflict-resolution skills to young people or intervening earlier with social services could curb violence, said Barry Stanton, the county’s deputy chief administrative officer for public safety.
“As a result of the argument, you’ve got a death. It’s just a shame,” Stanton said, referring to Saturday’s altercation between McClurkin and Blackwell. He said the county would be looking at how to better provide communities with assistance such as mediation and mental-health services.
Community organizations and the groups they serve also should look at how they can address such issues, said Bob Ross, president of the Prince George’s branch of the NAACP.
“We need to start paying attention to each other,” Ross said. “We got to get back to some basic things and develop a little more patience.”
