Prince George's County police say a man fatally shot by two officers early Friday morning was holding a pellet gun that looked like an assault rifle.
Officers were called to the apartment complex on Curtis Drive after someone saw two men arguing in the parking lot and reported that at least one of them appeared to be armed.
When officers arrived, both men were told to put down their weapons. Officers saw at least one man -- identified as 20-year-old Mark A. Blocker -- holding what appeared to be an assault weapon.
At some point, officers fired at Blocker, who later died at an area hospital. The second man was taken into custody. Officials tell News4 the men were brothers.
"It was just a toy, but I mean, when... the police ask you to do something you have to do it," said Marcus Clayton, a resident in the apartment complex.
Police recovered two weapons at the scene.
"They both are pellet guns," said Prince George's Media Relations Director Julie Parker. "One appeared to be an assault rifle, and one appeared to be a handgun."
For residents, this is just another of a series of violent attacks that hit too close to home.
"I know there was an incident the day before yesterday, and there was another murder here [recently]... a young boy got shot," said resident Yvette Long.
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That murder, which took place at the beginning of the month, is still being investigated. On Thursday, police were at the apartment complex trying to generate tips about that crime.
Police do not think the two incidents are related.
