One man is dead after a suspect walked into MGM National Harbor’s food court and fired a gun at him in an apparent targeted attack, police say.
Officers are searching for the suspect, who was captured on surveillance video, Prince George’s County Police Chief George Nader said in a news conference.
Nader said the shooting appeared to be targeted. The suspect walked into the food court just before noon and immediately fired at the victim, who was ordering food at the time, he said. There was no scuffle or interaction between the two before the suspect opened fire, Nader said.
Police haven’t released the name of the victim, but said they believe he was in his 20s.
The hotel and casino in Oxon Hill, Maryland, has numerous security cameras, which Nader said will be critical in finding the suspect. Investigators believe he took off in a car.
“We have not had crimes like this at the National Harbor and crime in MGM and National Harbor is down approximately 32% for violent crime this year. So it’s rare that incidents like this occur,” Nader said.
Some schools in the area were briefly put on lockdown as a precaution while police determined whether the shooter might be on foot in the area, but police said there’s no active threat to the community.
Police shut down the food court area of MGM as they investigate, but the rest of the property is open.
“MGM is safe. The harbor is safe,” Nader said. “This was a targeted incident. We believe it would have folded out anywhere once these two individuals came into the same area.”
One woman told News4 she was upset to find out about the shooting when she went to MGM in the afternoon to get lunch.
“I can’t believe it. Where’s the security? Where is the security? This is supposed to be a secure place with all the people coming in here with the amounts of money that I’m sure that they have on them, they need to have better security and that’s all I can say,” she said.
Nader said no one else in the food court was hurt. Police had originally said another man suffered a graze wound.
Video from Chopper4 showed a large police presence in a parking lot near the MGM building in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
News4 is at the scene and working to get more information. Continue to refresh for updates to this developing story.
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