A second suspect is now under arrest in connection with a deadly shooting during a “car meet” at a Prince George’s County shopping center on May 19.
Caimon Harrel, 21, of Woodbridge, Virginia, was taken into custody Thursday at his home in Prince William County.
He is charged with first and second-degree murder, first and second-degree attempted murder and other related charges, according to Prince George’s County Police. Harrell remains in custody in Virginia pending extradition to Prince George’s County.
In the early morning hours of May 19, police said a car meet was taking place in the parking lot of the Great Eastern Plaza shopping center on Marlboro Pike in District Heights when shots rang out.
John Phipps, 26, of Waldorf, Maryland, was found shot inside a vehicle and pronounced dead, police said. A second man was wounded by gunfire, but his injuries were not considered life-threatening. A woman was also hospitalized for injuries that were not caused by gunshots and were not life-threatening, according to police.
Phipps was an area tow truck driver and his family members said he had a love for cars.
On May 22, the first suspect, 22-year-old Raheem Adams, was arrested at his Virginia home and a Prince George’s County police official told WTOP that, at last report, Adams is still being held in Virginia, pending his extradition to Maryland.
The shooting happened less than two weeks before new state legislation goes into effect that will stiffen penalties for certain violations associated with “street meetups.”
“These car meets are a true concern to law enforcement both in our region and across the country. When the department is made aware of specific, credible intelligence, the agency plans accordingly and allocates resources to either prevent or disperse the gathering,” Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz said in a news release following the shooting. “As is evident in this case, these gatherings can turn violent.”
WTOP’s Thomas Robertson contributed to this report.
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