A double shooting in Langley Park, Maryland, left a 13-year-old girl dead, a 14-year-old hospitalized in critical condition early Tuesday, and police say a suspect is in custody.
The shooting happened just before 2 a.m. on Tuesday morning outside an apartment complex on 15th Ave. The victim was identified as 13-year-old Any Davalos of Silver Spring, Maryland. Police arrested 20-year-old Marcos Melendez-Umanzor, who lives in the Hyattsville area, not far from the scene of the shooting.
“We obtained an arrest warrant within 20 hours of this incident,” Police Chief George Nader said. “We had him in custody within one hour of obtaining that arrest warrant. He was taken into custody in an apartment … without incident.”
Nader said it’s not clear yet what the circumstances leading up to that killing were, and why the two teenagers were out at that time of night with Melendez-Umanzor, but the three did know each other. Preliminarily, it is believed that the shooting stemmed from an argument.
Reporters pressed the chief on whether this was connected to the recent killing of an 18-year-old woman in Langley Park. The chief was also asked about concern from neighbors about an increase in gang activity.
“At this time, we don’t have any clear links to these cases, nor we have we clearly identified anything as gang-related,” Nader said. “But understand that we are still investigating that, and these are things that we are going to look into, and if we find that there’s a link or that we find that it’s a gang-related, we’ll definitely release that information once we solidify the case.”
Melendez-Umanzor was charged with first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree attempted murder and other charges.
Davalos was reported missing by police in Montgomery County, Maryland, back on Oct. 18.
“Her life was really just beginning,” County Executive Aisha Braveboy said. “My heart breaks for her family, for the community, for those who knew her, loved her and those who were praying that she would return home. But our job now is to hold those who are responsible accountable.”
Her death comes amid a spike in violence around the county. Seven people have been killed in the last week, including the two in Langley Park. Two others were killed along Belle Haven Road in the Landover area. The chief said none of those shootings appear to be connected, nor do they appear to be random.
“These are not crimes that are stemming from people loitering or hanging out or any of these activities,” Nader said. “What we’re seeing is personal disputes that are happening indoors.”
Nader said police intend to launch a new campaign soon that aims to convince people to find another way to settle a dispute that doesn’t involve a handgun. The campaign will feature the families of murder victims, as well as convicted killers talking about all the lives thrown away when tempers get out of hand.
As for the recent killings in Langley Park, Nader said police will be boosting patrols in that part of the county.
The chief said despite the recent rise in killings, the murder rate in the county is still down about 20% from last year, and the closure rate is around 80%. But he also said he wasn’t taking a victory lap yet.
“When I take a victory lap is when those numbers are zero, because the numbers only matter to us,” Nader said. “They don’t matter to the victims. If there’s one homicide and it’s your family, it’s just as impactful as if there were more.”
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