2 women found dead in Manassas home; suspect arrested in Shenandoah County after carjacking

Two women were found dead in a home in Manassas, Virginia, early Tuesday and a homicide investigation is underway, authorities say.

Leann Renee Harris and Asia Payne, who both lived in the Manassas area, were the victims, police said in an update. Harris was 34. Payne was 22.

Edward James Jackson Bland, 36, of Manassas, was arrested and charged with murder, carjacking and use of a firearm in commission of a felony. Police said he knew the victims.

Prince William County police went to the Westgate Apartments & Townhomes on Porter Ridge Lane at about 5:10 a.m. to investigate a shooting, the department said. The community is north of Sudley Road.

Officers found two women who were shot in the upper body. They both were pronounced dead on the scene.

A report of a man with a gun, an armed carjacking and then a connection in Shenandoah County

Police responded to the building twice within the span of five hours. Prince William County police say they first responded to the area at about 12:45 for reports of a man with a gun.

A woman told News4 she heard a commotion at about 12:30 a.m. She said she went to see what happened and saw a man with a gun and a masked man running out of the building. Police responded but found nothing.

Separately, at about the same time, a 61-year-old man told police that a man carjacked him at gunpoint in the 8100 block of Portwood Turn. It’s a short walk from where the women would be found dead. The carjacking victim was not physically hurt.

Officers were not immediately able to find the stolen vehicle or carjacker, but information was entered into a national database and police departments in the area were told to look out for them.

Several hours later, law enforcement in Shenandoah County said they detained a man after his vehicle became inoperable near I-66 and I-81. He walked to a convenience store and authorities were notified. They then learned that the vehicle had been stolen from Manassas.

Police in Prince William County returned to Westgate Apartments & Townhomes after getting additional information. They tried to get someone to answer the door, breached the apartment and found the women dead.

Bland was in custody in Shenandoah County. It wasn’t immediately clear when he will appear in court and if he has a lawyer.

Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police.

Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.