Drugs might have been behind the first of three shootings that left five people in serious condition in the Laurel and Clarksville areas, Howard County police said.
The two shootings in Laurel early Wednesday morning occurred minutes apart with only a mile between them, but authorities said they do not believe any of the shootings were linked.
Police said the first round of gunfire went off around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday while three friends were meeting with another man, possibly for a drug deal, on the 5400 block of Broadwater Lane in Clarksville.
As they discussed the deal, a man and woman wearing masks pulled up in a car, police said. The assailants were armed with handguns when they jumped out and demanded cash. The men in the meeting handed their money over, but the duo shot one of them in the leg anyway. The victim, a Fort Washington man, was taken to a hospital in serious condition, authorities said.
Five hours later another masked man opened fired at three teenage boys in Laurel, police said. The boys were walking on the 9100 block of Hitching Post Lane at 12:51 a.m. Wednesday when a masked man walked up to them and started shooting. One boy was hit in the face by a bullet, another in the back. Both are in serious condition. The third teen was not injured.
Just two minutes later and a mile away, two groups of people fighting between a motel and a trailer park pulled guns and started shooting, authorities said. Two people were shot in the legs on the 100 block of Alma Avenue. Both were in serious condition.
Police could not immediately say who the suspects were in the three shootings and were still trying to confirm the names of everyone involved. Authorities are offering a reward of up to $1,500 for information in any of the cases. Anyone with information is asked to call Howard County police at 410-313-2236.
