Man suspected in fatal July 4 shooting of 6-year-old boy in Prince George’s Co. arrested in South America
Police in Prince George's County, Maryland, say a man suspected in the fatal shooting of a 6-year-old boy during a neighborhood Fourth of July party has been arrested in Guyana — and authorities are still trying to track down at least one other suspect.
Police in Prince George’s County, Maryland, say a man suspected in the fatal shooting of a 6-year-old boy during a neighborhood Fourth of July party has been arrested in Guyana — and authorities are still trying to track down at least one other suspect.
Rakeem Gilgeours, 33, has been charged with second-degree murder and is now in Florida, awaiting extradition to Prince George’s County, Prince George’s County police Chief Malik Aziz said during a news conference Thursday.
The boy, 6-year-old Ahsan Payton, of D.C. was struck and critically wounded in the shooting, which happened about 7:50 p.m. near the corner of Akron and Beaumont Streets, just off Raleigh Road in Marlow Heights, Maryland.
The boy was rushed to the hospital where he died two days later.
The police chief called the boy’s death “a senseless act of murder.”
“Call it tragic, call it a gun atrocity. Whatever it is, Ahsan Payton isn’t with us,” he said. “And we believe that this person is the reason why.”
Two adults were also wounded in the shooting, a man who suffered injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening and a woman who was treated at the scene for a graze wound.
Officials credited tips from the community with identifying Gilgeours as a suspect in the shooting.
“The reason we’re here today is because the public stepped up and provided information to the department and the department pursued these leads,” said Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy. “And we were able to make at least one arrest.”
Police still searching for 1 other suspect
Authorities said they are still seeking to identify at least one other suspect in the shooting.
“We know that there are other individuals out there who also need to be held responsible,” Braveboy said. “And we ask that the public continue to provide information to us. They are our partners.”
Police have said they believe the shooting was spurred by some kind of exchange between two people near the neighborhood holiday gathering.
Aziz said investigators don’t know exactly why Gilgeours was at the July 4 party but that he may have known some of the people in attendance.
Fled to Guyana
Following the July 4 shooting, Gilgeours took a flight to Guyana after the shooting. “Right before we identified who he was,” Aziz said. “So he was able to get out of the country and seek some cover and shelter in another place.”
Aziz said police believe Gilgeours has family in Guyana, but he is thought to be a U.S. citizen. The country, of 800,000 people, is located on the North Atlantic coast of South America and borders Venezuela and Brazil.
Gilgeours was taken into custody by Guyanese police before being deported back to the U.S.
Aziz thanked the U.S. Marshals Service, the Diplomatic Security Service, the Homeland Security Investigations and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement with tracking Gilgeours down.
Police chief to unknown suspect: ‘Be a man’
Authorities are asking anyone who attended the July 4 gathering in Marlow Heights or who may have information to contact police at 301-516-2512.
Anonymous tips can also be shared with Crime Solvers online.
The police chief delivered a stern message to the remaining suspect authorities are trying to track down.
“You want to get out there you want to get out there and commit violent crimes in our county?” Aziz said. “You want to carry guns and have an … insatiable love for weapons and you want to use them on our street? You want to get into shootouts, and you want to turn our neighborhoods into anything other than the peaceful places that we live, work, where our children play?
Then he added, “You were involved in something and one of our babies is gone. Turn yourself in. Be a man.”