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Four shootings in public places in Maryland said to be linked; suspect in custody Five shootings in public places in Maryland said to be linked; 35-year-old charged
(about 1 hour later)
Authorities think a 35-year-old Prince George’s County man taken into custody Tuesday night is connected with multiple shootings in the region over the past week, including incidents that occurred near a federal government building and along a major highway. Authorities have charged a 35-year-old Prince George’s County man in connection with one shooting and believe he is also responsible for four more shootings in the region in the past week, including incidents that occurred near a federal government building and along a major highway.
The man was identified as Hong Young of Beltsville, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation. He was arrested by Anne Arundel County police. The man was identified as Hong Young of Beltsville, a former Maryland prison officer. He was arrested by Anne Arundel County police.
The latest shootings occurred Tuesday afternoon, when shots were fired at a National Security Agency building and into traffic along the Intercounty Connector in Maryland. An FBI spokeswoman said agents believe he is responsible for those incidents. Authorities said the motive does not appear to be political in nature or related to terrorism.
Two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the investigation said Young also is being investigated in two other incidents, a shooting at the Columbia Mall in Howard County and another near a shopping center in Anne Arundel County. The latest shootings occurred Tuesday afternoon, when shots were fired at a National Security Agency building and into traffic along the Intercounty Connector in Maryland. An FBI spokeswoman said agents believe Young is responsible for those incidents.
The officials asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the investigation. One of the officials said the four incidents were connected based on ballistics testing. That person said the motive does not appear to be political in nature or related to terrorism. Police in Prince George’s said the gun that was submitted to their lab, and believe to be involved, is a semi-automatic pistol. Law enforcement officials said Young has been charged with a shooting near a shopping center in Anne Arundel County, and is being investigated in two other shootings, one near a Wal-Mart in Laurel, and the other near a movie theater in Howard County. No one was injured in any of those three shootings.
Authorities are expected to hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon about the investigation. Prince George’s Police were seen Wednesday morning around 11 a.m. outside a brick home in Beltsville that is listed as an address for Young. The neighborhood was cordoned off with crime tape, and forensics vans were parked in the area. “We’re all standing up here fortunate that we’re not having to go to anybody’s house and give a death notification. He’s off the street and will be in custody,” Anne Arundel police spokesman T. J. Smith said at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Officials said that four of the five incidents were connected based on ballistics testing, and that the fifth was linked by surveillance video showing Young’s vehicle at the scene.
Police in Prince George’s said the gun that was submitted to their lab, and believed to be involved, is a semi-automatic pistol.
The shooting for which Young has already been charged is the first in the series, on Feb. 24 near the Arundel Mills mall. He allegedly fired into a man’s car near a Costco.
In a news release, Anne Arundel County police said that Young is charged with attempted murder and other crimes for that shooting.
At the news conference, Maryland Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services Stephen Moyer said that Young worked as a correctional officer at a medium-security facility in Jessup from January 2012 to May 2014, when he resigned. Moyer said that there was nothing unusual about Young’s record as an employee.
Young was arrested without incident and has been cooperating with detectives interviewing him, authorities said at the news conference. He is currently being held at a hospital. Police declined to say why Young needed medical treatment.
Prince George’s Police were seen Wednesday morning around 11 a.m. outside a brick home in Beltsville that is listed as an address for Young. The neighborhood was cordoned off with crime tape, and forensics vans were parked in the area.
Neighbor Joy Abraham said he didn’t know the suspect’s name, but was friendly with the family -- which included grandparents and their grandchildren -- that lived at the Beltsville home which police entered Wednesday morning.Neighbor Joy Abraham said he didn’t know the suspect’s name, but was friendly with the family -- which included grandparents and their grandchildren -- that lived at the Beltsville home which police entered Wednesday morning.
The family who lived at the home seemed peaceful and hardworking, said Abraham, 66, who has been a neighbor for 12 to 15 years.The family who lived at the home seemed peaceful and hardworking, said Abraham, 66, who has been a neighbor for 12 to 15 years.
“It is very sad,” Abraham said as police continued to search the home a few houses down. “They just do their work. They don’t bother anybody.”“It is very sad,” Abraham said as police continued to search the home a few houses down. “They just do their work. They don’t bother anybody.”
On Wednesday morning, police in Anne Arundel County posted a surveillance video showing a sedan that they believe was involved in one of the shootings near Arundel Mills mall on Feb. 24.On Wednesday morning, police in Anne Arundel County posted a surveillance video showing a sedan that they believe was involved in one of the shootings near Arundel Mills mall on Feb. 24.
It was not immediately clear whether the vehicle involved in the Arundel Mills incident was also believed to be involved in the other recent shootings in the area. In that incident, police said a 61-year-old man was driving on Arundel Mills Boulevard “when a suspect pulled alongside of his vehicle and began shooting at him” after he had left a Costco gas station in the area.
In the Feb. 24 incident in Anne Arundel County, police said a 61-year-old man was driving on Arundel Mills Boulevard “when a suspect pulled alongside of his vehicle and began shooting at him” after he had left a Costco gas station in the area. The man’s car was struck several times with bullets, but he was uninjured, police said.
The man’s car was struck several times with bullets, but he was uninjured, police said. The victim then drove to his own home where he called police. There is no motive for that shooting, according to police. On Wednesday, police said the vehicle involved in the Arundel Mills incident was also seen in surveillance video of a shooting at about 2:50 a.m. on March 2 at a Wal-Mart in Laurel.
Another one of the incidents happened early Monday morning in Howard County. Officials said a member of a cleaning crew at the AMC Theatre at the mall in Columbia reported around 5 a.m. that shots had been fired toward the theater. No one was injured. Then two hours later on that same night, officials said, a member of a cleaning crew at the AMC Theatre at the mall in Columbia reported that shots had been fired toward the theater. No one was injured.
On Tuesday, two other shootings unfolded.On Tuesday, two other shootings unfolded.
In the first incident, the window of a truck was struck by gunfire around 2:40 p.m. as the vehicle traveled east on the ICC near Interstate 95 in Prince George’s County. The shot may have been fired from woods nearby. In the first incident, the window of a truck was struck by gunfire around 2:40 p.m. as the vehicle traveled east on the ICC near Interstate 95 in Prince George’s County. The shot may have been fired from woods nearby, police said.
One man in the truck was bruised by a bullet fragment that was blocked by his clothing; the other man was cut in the face by shards of glass, said Lt. Kevin Ayd of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police on Tuesday. Both were sent to a hospital with injuries that did not appear life-threatening.One man in the truck was bruised by a bullet fragment that was blocked by his clothing; the other man was cut in the face by shards of glass, said Lt. Kevin Ayd of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police on Tuesday. Both were sent to a hospital with injuries that did not appear life-threatening.
The victims work for Nelson Tree Specialist and were traveling in one of the company’s trucks, said Gary Cooper, an employee of the landscaping business.The victims work for Nelson Tree Specialist and were traveling in one of the company’s trucks, said Gary Cooper, an employee of the landscaping business.
“They were just driving down the road and got shot,” said Cooper, who was on his way to visit the victims at a hospital on Tuesday. “It certainly makes you wonder.”“They were just driving down the road and got shot,” said Cooper, who was on his way to visit the victims at a hospital on Tuesday. “It certainly makes you wonder.”
Several hours later on Tuesday, about 12 miles away there was also gunfire that struck a building at the NSA campus in Anne Arundel County, a U.S. Park Police spokeswoman said. Several hours later on Tuesday, about 12 miles away, there was gunfire that struck a building at the NSA campus in Anne Arundel County, a U.S. Park Police spokeswoman said.
The Park Police said no injuries were reported, and police initially said they had no information about who might have fired at the building, which is in Fort Meade, Md. No one was seriously injured.The Park Police said no injuries were reported, and police initially said they had no information about who might have fired at the building, which is in Fort Meade, Md. No one was seriously injured.
Authorities provided some details about how Young was apprehended.Authorities provided some details about how Young was apprehended.
“As soon as we started to hear about the possibility of this stuff being linked, we kicked every effort we had into overdrive,” Anne Arundel police chief Timothy Altomare said at the news conference.
Police in Anne Arundel County said they were conducting surveillance Tuesday around 10:30 p.m. for a car that was believed to be involved in the Feb. 24 shooting incident at Arundel Mills mall.Police in Anne Arundel County said they were conducting surveillance Tuesday around 10:30 p.m. for a car that was believed to be involved in the Feb. 24 shooting incident at Arundel Mills mall.
Two police officers saw a car fitting the description of the suspect vehicle — a 1999 blue Lincoln Towncar — and halted it for a traffic stop in the area of the Costco on Arundel Mills Circle. Two police officers saw a car fitting the description of the suspect’s vehicle — a 1999 blue Lincoln Towncar — and halted it for a traffic stop in the area of the Costco on Arundel Mills Circle.
The officers saw “evidence in the vehicle that ultimately led to the arrest of the suspect,” according to police in Anne Arundel County. It was not immediately clear what that evidence was.The officers saw “evidence in the vehicle that ultimately led to the arrest of the suspect,” according to police in Anne Arundel County. It was not immediately clear what that evidence was.
The vehicle was registered to Young, Smith said at Wednesday’s news conference. He appeared to have fired from inside of it in some of the shootings and not in others; on the ICC, he was standing outside the vehicle in the woods, Smith said. He did not appear to have been living in the vehicle.
Dan Morse, Martin Weil, Julie Zauzmer and Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.Dan Morse, Martin Weil, Julie Zauzmer and Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.