The Washington area has gotten off to a deadly start in 2011, including three separate slayings Tuesday morning in Prince George’s County and a stabbing at a Bethesda hospital. “Not the way we wanted to start out the new year,” said Prince George’s County police Cpl. Clinton Copeland.
The rash of lethal violence comes as the two jurisdictions that drive the area’s homicide numbers each year — the District and Prince George’s County — reported decreases in homicides in 2010. D.C. reported the lowest number of killings in the nation’s capital since 1963.
Seven people have been killed in the region in the first four days of 2011. As of Tuesday night, none of the killings had been solved.
| The victims |
| » Prince George’s: Clifton Antion Turner, 42; Ansel Donovan Whitelocke, 58; two unidentified adult males |
| » The District: Bryant Morillo, 16; Brian C. Scott, 21 |
| » Montgomery: Roosevelt Brockington Jr., 40 |
Residents of Prince George’s County woke up Tuesday to the news that three people had been killed in separate incidents.
Shortly after midnight, police responded to a call for a shooting in the parking lot of the Upscale Ballroom in Suitland. Clifton Antion Turner, 42, of Laurel, was found dead at the scene.
Two hours later, shots were reported on the 7200 block of Crafford Place in Fort Washington, and homicide detectives were summoned to investigate the death of an adult male.
Around 7:30 a.m., officers responding to a homicide at Tucker Road and Palmer Road in Fort Washington found a man with trauma to his upper body, police said.
Police said they suspect the Fort Washington killings could be related.
They were the third and fourth homicides in the county so far in 2011. Last year at this time there were zero.
In a speech Tuesday after being sworn in as Prince George’s County’s top prosecutor, State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks pointed to statistics showing crime is declining in the county, but said there are still “too many” homicides. She called that “unacceptable.”
“Continuing the decrease of violent crime is a priority for our office,” Alsobrooks told
The Washington Examiner. Montgomery County police are still looking for the person who fatally stabbed 40-year-old Suburban Hospital worker Roosevelt Brockington Jr. The medical center was locked down for four hours Sunday as police went from room to room searching for the killer. Police say the suspect possibly worked there or knew Brockington.
In D.C., two people were killed and three others wounded in separate shootings on Sunday — the same day new Mayor Vincent Gray took office. Sixteen-year-old Bryant Morillo was shot along with another victim in Northwest, and 21-year-old Brian C. Scott was killed in Southeast.
Staff Writer Alex Pappas contributed to this report. [email protected]
