A 14-year-old and a 16-year-old were arrested and charged with attempted murder in a shooting at a Greenbelt park that left five teens wounded during a “senior skip day” outing, officials announced Monday.
Greenbelt Police Chief Richard Bowers announced the arrests of the two teenage boys 10 days after the incident, which began with a social media post that drew hundreds of teens from local high schools, according to authorities. The five injured teens — ages 16 to 18 — have since been released from the hospital, Bowers said.
“This investigation has removed a threat from our community, providing peace of mind to the residents who wish to enjoy public spaces just like this,” Bowers said outside at Schrom Hills Park, where he appeared with other local and federal law enforcement officials. “These events are avoidable and needlessly ruin people’s lives, both the victims and the suspects.”
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The two teenage suspects were “identified with the help of witnesses,” and detectives worked with Prince George’s County police and the State’s Attorney’s Office to obtain warrants for both teens, Bowers said. They are charged as adults. Officials did not identify the teens because of their age, but both are Bowie High School students, according to Greenbelt Police.
The U.S. Marshals Service Joint Fugitive Task Force, which includes the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office, apprehended the teens on Monday, one in the Bowie area and the other in the District Heights area, Bowers said. The motive of the shooting remains under investigation.
“These cases will continue to be investigated and will be presented to a grand jury,” State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said.
Police released graphic clips Monday from dash-cam and body-camera footage of the incident. The first starts with teenagers walking around the driveway toward the pavilion when shots are fired, then screaming as a mass of people try to exit the park. Officers radio “shots fired” and run toward the pavilion, according to the video. Cars tried to speed off too, while teens and officers were running in the same lot, with one officer having to shout “slow down.” In another clip, the officers are conferring together in a group when the shots are fired, and immediately run toward the sound.
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The arrests come amid growing concern about youth violence in Prince George’s County. County Executive Angela Alsobrooks reinstated a youth curfew Friday after a brawl involving hundreds of teenagers at National Harbor the same weekend as the skip day shooting.
Since the shooting, a trailer camera has been placed in front of the park and park rangers are stationed there on weekday afternoons, city officials said.
Greenbelt Mayor Emmett Jordan said city officials must partner with schools to address truancy, and everyone must address the “elephant in the room”: guns.
“What is a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old doing with a gun?” Jordan said. “There’s some big challenges, some lessons to be learned here in terms of collaborations and partnerships.”
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