Montgomery County

Suspect arrested in Germantown Topgolf shooting: Police

The two victims were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries

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Police arrested a suspect in the shooting of two employees at Topgolf in Germantown, Maryland.

Cyprian Nwaigwe, 28, was with a group of four people being asked to leave at closing just after midnight Monday when he got into a fight with a 23-year-old security guard, according to charging documents.

Nwaigwe shot the guard in the back, charging documents say, and the bullet went through him and struck an 18-year-old employee in the leg.

The employees were taken to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Nwaigwe drove away from the scene.

Police identified him as a suspect and arrested him about 1 a.m. Wednesday in Ocean City with help from the Ocean City Police Department.

Nwaigwe was charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of firearm use in felony violent crime. He is in custody in Montgomery County awaiting a bond hearing.  

Montgomery County Police are investigating after two Topgolf employees were shot at the venue's location in Germantown, Maryland. News4's Joseph Olmo reports.

In a statement to News4 Tuesday, Topgolf said, in part, "We’re aware of the incident that occurred at our Germantown venue last night and are working with the local authorities. We’re unable to comment further at this time given the ongoing nature of the police investigation. However, we commend our teams for acting swiftly and safely in response to the situation."

Topgolf is a popular entertainment venue with a restaurant, bar and hitting bays, where visitors play a golfing game. The Germantown location closes at midnight. Guns and weapons are not allowed inside, according to a sign posted at the entrance.

The venue was open for business several hours after the shooting on Tuesday. A regular who came to use a hitting bay said he was surprised.

“Honestly, I never had any idea that such a thing even happened at a Topgolf,” he said. “That's not really like the first thing that comes to mind when I'm coming to such a place. Thinking, ‘Oh, wait, what could happen if someone brings a gun?’”

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