Officials and neighbors are pleading for an end to the violence that most recently claimed the life of a 16-year old in a suburban community Saturday.
Prince George’s County police said Quincy Emmanuel Barnes Dyson, a student at Wise High School, was shot around 4:30 p.m. in the 13500 block of Fenway Lane in Upper Marlboro, about a mile from where he lived.
Neighbors said they heard too many shots to count.
“I just started hearing multiple bullets,” one woman, who did not feel safe sharing her name, said. “Then I heard somebody shooting back. Like it was almost like, not a drive-by but a shoot out.”
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She said early that Saturday morning she heard what sounded like semi automatic gun fire outside her home.
When it cleared, she was shocked to hear the victim was Barnes Dyson, a boy who was good friends with her own son.
“I was devastated. He is someone that’s been in my home. He has spent nights here, ate here,” she said.
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Police believe that Barnes Dyson was able to make it to his home on Ascott Drive after he was struck. It’s not clear if he was the intended target.
Authorities are still looking for suspects and a motive.
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks released a statement regarding the recent shooting and others involving teens and children. She asked residents to participate in the police departments’ gun buyback program this weekend.
“We encourage residents to anonymously turn in guns, no questions asked, to receive free gift cards,” Alsobrooks said. “Stopping violence starts with this community, and this is one way our community can commit to a future where no more families have to suffer the loss of a loved one due to gun violence.”
For the mother who heard the gunfire, the shooting hit too close to home.
“We have to get the guns off the streets. Enough is enough. We can’t take no more. The parents can’t take no more. We’re tired of burying children,” she said.
The Gift Cards for Guns event will take place Saturday, Nov. 20 at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden at 600 Watkins Park Drive In Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
