Two women were found shot and killed Tuesday morning inside an apartment in Manassas, Virginia, and police say a “person of interest” in the double homicide has been detained.
Prince William County police said officers went to the Westgate Apartments and Townhomes complex in the 8100 block of Porters Ridge Lane just before 5:15 a.m. for the report of a shooting.
While conducting a welfare check, police found two women with gunshot wounds; both were declared dead at the scene, according to a news release.
The women were later identified as 34-year-old Leann Renee Harris and 22-year-old Asia Payne, both of Manassas.
A person of interest in the shooting was detained in Shenandoah County, police said, adding that the individual knew the women. Police believe it wasn’t a random shooting.
The suspect was later identified as Edward James Jackson Bland, 36, also of Manassas.
“At the point that we located the two deceased, we already had the individual detained,” Jonathan Perok, a police spokesman, told WTOP. “There wasn’t a perceived public threat.”
Hours earlier, around 12:45 a.m., police said they received a call from a man who had been carjacked at gunpoint by Jackson Bland in the 8100 block of Portwood Turn. The man was unharmed in the incident.
Some time later, Jackson Bland was taken into police custody after the stolen vehicle reportedly became inoperable near Interstate 66 and Interstate 81 and the car came up as stolen in the police database.
Jackson Bland remains in police custody and is being charged with two counts of murder, one count of carjacking, and three counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, according to officials. A future court date is yet to be announced.
Below is a map of the area where the shooting took place:
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