The man suspected in a string of shootings and carjackings earlier this week that stretched from D.C. into Prince George’s County, Maryland, and left one man dead and another critically wounded has been identified by Maryland authorities.
The Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General identified the man as 28-year-old Artell Cunningham, of Suitland, Maryland.
He was shot and killed early Tuesday morning by two New Carrollton, Maryland, officers. They have been identified as Sgt. Byron Purnell and Cpl. Carlos Batenga. They each have over four years of law enforcement experience and are on administrative leave following the shooting, which is standard practice.
Maryland’s Office of the Attorney General investigates deaths involving police and said the investigation is still ongoing.
Shootings and carjackings started in DC
Cunningham is suspected of being involved in a series of shootings and carjackings that began in the 900 block of K Street in Northwest D.C. at around 5:45 p.m. Monday.
In a news conference Tuesday, Assistant Chief of D.C. police Jeffery Carroll said the suspect, later identified as Cunningham, got into a parked vehicle and shot the driver, who has been identified by his family as Mike Gill.
A spokesman for D.C. police told WTOP that Gill is in “very critical condition” as of Tuesday night.
Around 7 p.m. that same night, police believe Cunningham attempted to steal a vehicle in the 1000 block of 3rd Street Northwest. He did not steal the vehicle and ran from the scene.
Cunningham then stole the vehicle of another man — identified as 35-year-old Alberto Vasquez Jr. — before fatally shooting Vasquez Jr. in Northeast D.C.’s NoMa neighborhood around 15 minutes later, police said.
Vasquez Jr. was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries where he later died.
Cunningham then abandoned the car in Prince George’s County before ordering and carjacking a rideshare vehicle, according to police.
At around 3 a.m., that allegedly stolen vehicle drove past a D.C. police cruiser on Interstate 295 near the 1st Street exit, police said. The driver of the vehicle fired at the cruiser, striking the driver side door. The officer wasn’t injured.
About 30 minutes later, a Maryland State Police trooper spotted a dark-colored vehicle a few lanes away while the officer was helping stranded motorists on Interstate 95 near Maryland Route 198 and Laurel, according to Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Roland Butler.
Butler said the person in the vehicle, who is believed to be Cunningham, shot at least one time, striking the trooper’s windshield.
Police shooting in Lanham
The police shooting happened early that morning.
Around 4:30 a.m., the New Carrollton officers, Purnell and Batenga, noticed an SUV parked on the road in the 7500 block of Annapolis Road.
According to police, they learned the car had been reported as a carjacked vehicle by Prince
George’s County.
As the officers searched the area, police said Cunningham approached them and showed two handguns.
That’s when the officers fired their weapons, striking and killing Cunningham.
The two officers were uninjured.
Cunningham was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
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