SUITLAND, Md. — A 15-year-old boy has been shot and killed in Suitland, Prince George's County Police Department said.
The shooting happened Wednesday evening in the 4400 block of Arnold Road, police told WUSA9. Police say officers were called out just before 5:30 p.m.
Officer Thomas Lester said when officers arrived they found 15-year-old Rhyce Wingate-Bey of D.C. outside suffering from "gunshot trauma". They took Wingate-Bey to a hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
78-year-old Esther Dillingham lives in an apartment on the same block where police said the victim was shot. She said she and her granddaughter were inside their apartment when she heard five to six shots.
“The shots were close by, but see I was sitting here," Dillingham said, pointing to her sofa. "So I felt protected because of the sofa."
She said in this case, the pandemic probably protected her granddaughter from potentially being injured. She's been spending a lot more time inside because of COVID-19, she said.
“If we weren’t in the pandemic, she would have been outside," Dillingham said. "Then I would have been a nervous wreck.”
Officer Lester said detectives spent hours speaking with people who live in the apartment complex and searching for security cameras that could show who was involved in the shooting.
As of Wednesday night, police still had not released suspect information. Police are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest in this shooting.
Officer Lester said the investigation into the killing is still in its very early stages, so detectives are still working to determine why the boy was in the neighborhood, what led up to the shooting and who was involved.
PGPD is asking anyone with information to contact Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS or call detectives at 301-516-2512.
This is a developing story that will be updated. Please check back with WUSA9 for more details.
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