WASHINGTON — A woman is dead and four people were wounded after an early morning drive-by shooting in Forestville, Maryland.
Prince George’s County police say officers responded to the 6600 block of Hil Mar Drive around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. When they arrived, officers found 49-year-old Joanne Woods, of District Heights, suffering from gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
Four other people were shot and taken to the hospital. Police said two remain in the hospital, and the other two victims have been treated and released.
Police do not believe this was a random act. Investigators are working to identify a suspect and a motive.
The preliminary investigation reveals the victims were standing outside when they were shot by a suspect who was in a car. That car then sped from the area.
Evidence technicians set out more than a dozen orange, numbered evidence markers along Hil Mar Drive early Tuesday. Yellow crime scene tape blocked off courtyards of the Avanti apartments, and children and parents were being escorted through the crime scene so the kids could get to school.
Neighbor Abraham Scott was sleeping when he heard what he thought was firecrackers. It reminded him of the sound of corn popping. “I didn’t think it was actually shooting,” he said.
“You’ve gotta love and learn to get along with other folks. Violence is not the answer.”
Below is a map of where the shooting occurred.
WTOP’s Meg Hasken and Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.
