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December 23 at approximately 5:00 p.m., an off-duty Montgomery County Police gang officer was in the area of the Westfield Wheaton Shopping Centre, located at 11160 Veirs Mill Road in Wheaton. The off-duty officer saw what he believed to be members of two rival gangs (later identified as Bloods gang members from Prince George’s County and MS-13 gang members with connections to the Washington Metropolitan area) exchanging words and preparing to fight. He was calling for and 4th District Central Business District (CBD) officers were rapidly responding just as gunshots rang out.
Two suspects from the Bloods gang pulled out guns and fired multiple shots at members of the MS-13 gang. A 20-year-old male MS-13 gang member from Silver Spring was shot in the shoulder and suffered non-life-threatening injuries and is recovering from those injuries.During the course of the incident, a vehicle, with two women inside and unrelated to the incident, was used as cover, and shots went through that vehicle’s windows. Glass breakage injured the two females, who are recovering from their injuries. Officers pursued the suspects into Macy’s and ultimately into a main level dressing room where it was determined that an accidental discharge of a suspect gun occurred. No one was injured from the discharge. Further investigation revealed that the suspects were able to leave the store through an emergency exit within part of the dressing room. Two guns were recovered from the dressing room; one of which had been reported stolen from another Maryland jurisdiction. Security video obtained after the shooting showed one group of gang members following the other across the parking lot outside of the Macy’s department store. Video also showed four suspects (later determined to be Taylor, Davies, Lee(AKA Graves), and Kinard) entering the shopping center followed by officers in pursuit.
On December 26, photographs of the suspects were distributed to the media showing a suspect in a yellow jacket. After that description was publicized through the media, an individual called police on December 27, 2008, and information was provided that led detectives to recover the yellow jacket, which contained bullets, in a stairwell in the mall. Suspect Lee(AKA Graves) was identified as the suspect wearing that jacket.
On January 2, 2009, Maryland and Delaware State Police were involved in a pursuit of a vehicle with three suspects who were believed to be involved in a series of burglaries that had occurred on the Eastern Shore. The vehicle crashed, Lee(AKA Graves), Kinard, and Quick were arrested, and a handgun was recovered in the vehicle. On January 5, 2009, Montgomery County Police detectives learned about the arrest of Lee(AKA Graves) and traveled to Delaware to interview all those arrested after the pursuit. It was learned that Quick assisted the group of males involved in the shooting by providing transportation for them to flee from Maryland. It was also learned that Kinard was involved in a series of burglaries with Quick in Howard and Prince George’s counties, and instigated the confrontation between the Bloods gang members and the MS-13 gang members at the shopping center that night. It was also learned that this was a random encounter between the two gangs, but that the Bloods gang members went to the shopping center parking lot with the intent of shooting someone. On January 6, 2009, members of the 4th District Special Assignment Team and the Repeat Offender Section assisted in locating and taking the last two outstanding suspects, Taylor and Davies, into custody. Taylor was identified as the ringleader of the Bloods gang members at the parking lot the night of the shooting and gave the order to shoot. Davies and Lee(AKA Graves) both fired at the MS-13 gang members.
Montgomery County Police detectives want to acknowledge the assistance of the following law enforcement agencies: Maryland State Police, Delaware State Police, the town of Del-Mar Police Department, and the Howard County Police Department. They would also like to thank members of the Media for their assistance.
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