WASHINGTON — Officials have identified the man believed to be responsible for an 11-hour carjacking rampage before he was shot and killed by police on Tuesday in West Lanham Hills.
According to the Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, the man was 28-year-old Artell Cunningham of Suitland, Maryland.
The deadly shooting happened after an hours-long manhunt connected to multiple carjackings across the DMV. New Carrollton police said officers shot Cunningham, who they believe is responsible for the rampage. Investigators said they are still working on finding a motive and believe he was suffering from a mental health crisis.
A woman, who did not want to be identified, said she encountered Cunningham when he tried to steal her car.
“That’s when a man came right up face to face with me and he started saying 'Can I get your keys, ma'am, can I get your keys' a bunch of times, and then he flashed a gun,” the woman said. “I just ran the other direction, and I had a fight or flight response, and I didn’t give up my keys. I ran with my keys to just get out of there.”
The woman said she was visiting a friend in the NOMA area and could not believe Cunningham was trying to take her car and was shocked by the rest of his actions.
"I just feel very lucky to be alive,” she said.
She also told WUSA9 that Cunningham’s demeanor was strange, and he was whispering the whole time.
In the end, one carjacking victim was killed, and another carjacking victim is in critical condition after being shot. The suspect also shot at two police vehicles in two separate locations during the rampage, which included at least five carjackings or attempted carjackings.
On Wednesday, people said they were walking with caution along K and 9th street in Northwest, which is where one of the carjackings in D.C. and Maryland was committed by the same man.
“It’s unbelievable and very, very sad to see this happening,” one man said.
“It’s crazy,” Diaya Fuller said. “It’s really concerning because I grew up here, I was born and raised here and yeah we’ve always had issues, but I feel like it’s getting more and more common.”
People who frequent the areas where the shootings happened said these carjackings need to stop.
“You don’t live in D.C. if your car hasn’t been jacked into yet," Justice Lysander said. "That’s why my parents don’t really want me to live in D.C., because a shooting right here where I go to school, a shooting down the street, a carjacking. It’s very dangerous.”
“What’s more scary, is I’m actually not sure what the solution is,” D.C. native Taariq Saadiq said.
The New Carrollton Police officers who shot Cunningham have been identified as Sergeant Byron Purnell, a 6-year veteran, and Corporal Carlos Batenga, who has 5 years of law enforcement experience. Both officers are assigned to the Patrol Unit. The investigation is ongoing.
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