A man is dead after being shot inside a food court at MGM National Harbor Hotel and Casino in Oxon Hill on Wednesday afternoon, according to Prince George’s County police.
Police said officers responded to a shooting that happened at the food court just before noon.
“The victim was ordering food, the suspect appeared and immediately began shooting
at the victim,” Prince George’s County Police Chief George Nader said during a news conference.
Initially, police said a second man was apparently grazed by a bullet. But Nader later confirmed only one person was shot.
Officers located the man, who is believed to be in his 20s, inside of the food court. He was declared dead at the scene.
The shooter fled the scene in a vehicle, according to preliminary investigation.
During an afternoon news conference, Nader said officers are searching for a suspect, who was captured on video. He did not share a description of the alleged shooter.
Nader said the shooting was not random and the man who was killed was targeted.
“It appeared that they were looking for this person, chased them down and this shooting occurred right there in the food court,” Nader said.
The police investigation affected some Metrobus routes, including: P90, P94, C11, P96 and P97, according to Metro.
Several schools were placed on a lockdown temporarily as a precaution until police could confirm the shooter wasn’t on foot in area. Nader said there is no active threat to the public.
The only portion of MGM National Harbor that’s closed down for the investigation is the food court, Nader said. The rest of the hotel and casino remain open.
According to Nader, violent crime in the area of MGM National Harbor is down 32% this year. He said, “it’s rare that instances like this occur.”
“MGM is safe,” Nader said. “The harbor is safe. This was a targeted incident. We believe that it would have folded out anywhere once these two individuals came into the same area.”
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