Three teenagers, ages 16, 17 and 18, have been arrested after a man was found dead Monday night at a Bethesda, Maryland, shopping center, Montgomery County police said.
The victim, described as a man in his thirties, was located by officers shortly after 8 p.m. in a stairwell at the Shops of Wisconsin, not far from downtown Bethesda, authorities said.
News4's Jackie Bensen learned that the victim was found at the bottom of a stairwell near a Target, on a landing that leads to the building’s mechanical systems. The landing is not visible from the street, and is hard to see even from other parts of the shopping center, which also includes a popular Trader Joe’s.
The man had suffered a trauma to his body and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Details on the nature of his injuries were not immediately available.
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There do not appear to be any security cameras in the stairwell where the man was found.
The teen suspects, whose names were not released, were charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. Police told News4 they believe drugs were involved in the incident.
Montgomery County officers responded to the area after receiving a report of a suspicious situation, authorities said.
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Police radio transmissions indicate that officers on the scene were able to connect the discovery of the victim's body to a missing persons report filed from a residential address a few blocks away. More information on that case was not immediately available.
His identity will be released after the next of kin is notified, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Montgomery County Police at 240-773-5070.
Stay with NBCWashington.com on this developing story.
