CLINTON, Md. — Police are urging families who are struggling to reach out for help after one person was stabbed and another shot inside a crowded home on New Year's Day in Prince George's County.
Two people are dead, and two others -- including a child -- were hurt in a domestic incident in Clinton, Maryland on Sunday morning. Police believe nine people were in a house in the 2500 block of Lazy Acres Road at the time of the incident.
The two people killed were identified Monday as Monique Duncan, 42, and Maurice Moore, 42. Police said the two were in a relationship. Police say Moore, was stabbed to death and Duncan was shot and killed.
Investigators are "looking at the possibility that this was a case of self-defense or defense of others case," according to a news release sent to the media early Monday evening. But they haven't detailed how that happened and say they "are now working to determine the circumstances." Police say they're consulting with the State's Attorney to decide if any charges are appropriate.
A neighbor said she regrets not answering her door when a victim came looking for help.
"This whole doorknob was bloody," said Phyllis Williams, who has now wiped the blood from her front door.
"Hear that. That's him knocking on my door," she said, playing a Ring video from just before 6 a.m. on Sunday.
Williams said she barely knows the neighbors around the corner, which is why she didn't recognize one of the family members who came to her home, desperate for help. Ring video shows a young man knocking loudly pm Williams' door before running across her grass to another house.
"Had we known that, we probably would have opened the door," she said. "But we didn't know that."
He didn't get help at the next house either. Blood still stains the doorknob and doorbell.
As police got word of the attack Sunday, a dispatcher relayed what she was hearing to responding officers.
"Female says her boyfriend's dad and mom were arguing and she thought the mom got shot. And she's in the basement with her newborn," the dispatcher radioed in a recording from Rangecast.
Neighbors say they heard at least five shots.
"I heard like bang, bang, bang, bang," said Frank Leapley, who lives next door. "If anyone heard that, they had to cry."
He was shaken when a woman began screaming as workers from the medical examiner's office wheeled out a gurney.
"I believe it was the mother," Leapley said. "And tears just came down my eyes when I heard that."
Family members were back at the home Monday, but still too upset to talk to reporters.
Nearly a year ago, and just a few miles away, a teenager shot his dad and killed his mom and eight-year-old brother in another Clinton domestic incident.
The holidays can be tough on families. If you're struggling, reach out for help. Dial 988 for the suicide and crisis hotline.