A person was shot near the steps of a mosque in Prince George’s County Wednesday, shortly after a funeral took place there.
Gunfire erupted around 2 p.m. outside the entrance to the mosque at the Diyanet Center of America, a unique facility with ties to the government of Turkey, in the 9400 block of Good Luck Road in Lanham, Maryland.
The victim, whose name has not been released, was shot multiple times and is currently hospitalized.
The gunman was able to get away before officers arrived. Prince George’s County detectives and crime scene investigators could be seen gathering shell casings and other evidence.
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“We do not have any lookout information at this time," Officer Thomas Lester said. "Preliminarily, our detectives do not believe this to be a random act of violence."
The center, said to be the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, is funded by Turkey to promote Turkish culture and serve the Muslim community. The facility has residences, a restaurant, a school, a meeting center and even a funeral home spread out over several acres.
In a statement, the center provided some additional detail about the shooting.
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“We are deeply shocked by the shooting incident that occurred at our center today shortly after a funeral. The incident left one individual injured who was immediately taken to the hospital,” the statement reads.
The center has a number of security cameras which may have recorded video useful to police in their investigation.
