A suspect shot himself after a nine-hour hostage standoff with Prince George's County police, according to officials.
Prince George’s County Police said the incident started at about 10 p.m. Tuesday at a house at the end of Ritchboro Road in Capitol Heights. The incident reportedly involved a man and his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend, but at one point the gunman held eight people hostage, family members involved in the standoff said.
Davon McRae said he was inside when the gunman stormed in.
“My uncle tried to put him out of the house, so that’s when he got mad, hit him with the gun and closed the door back,” said McRae, the victim’s brother.
“I came home with my girlfriend and the guy had everybody hostage,” said Tyrone Wright, the victim's uncle. “He eventually let us out of the house, but he took my niece upstairs.”
Wright said his niece is the ex-girlfriend of the gunman.
“He was mad because of their relationship and wondering why she don’t mess with him anymore,” Wright said.
All night police sat outside with a command center set up, pleading with the gunman to let the hostage go. Police said it eventually ended at about 7 a.m. Wednesday when the suspect turned the gun on himself in an upstairs bedroom.
“It’s not unusual in this situation for a barricade to last this long,” said Prince George’s County Corporal Larry Johnson. “Time is on our side.”
The 18-year-old victim was able to make it out of the house OK.
As for the gunman, police are not releasing much information about him, only saying he is on the hospital in very critical condition.
Family members said Tuesday night’s run-in with the gunman was their second encounter with him that day. They didn’t call police the first time he came in with a gun because the victim’s mother said he apologized.
