3-Year-Old Boy Fatally Shot, Young Mother Injured Outside Langley Park Apartment: Police

LANGLEY PARK, MD — A 3-year-old boy has been fatally shot and his mother wounded while they were outside an apartment complex around Thursday.

A detective in the area heard gunfire around 5:30 p.m. Thursday and went to Bedford Station Apartments, located in the 1400 block of Kanawah Street. He found the young mother and her child with gunshot wounds in a courtyard, according to the Prince George's Police Department.

The child was taken to the Children's National Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The mother was taken to a Washington, D.C., hospital where she was listed in stable condition Thursday night, according to a report from the police department.

“That young baby did nothing to anyone ... did not deserve to die because someone wants to come out here and play with guns. Bullets come down and have real consequences. I can only pray they weren't trying to kill a child. A child is dead, a mother shot. That baby won't get to be a future PG police officer or live his best life,” Prince George's Police Assistant Chief Vernon Hale III said during a news conference held after the shooting Thursday night. "My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and those around this community who had to witness this. Somebody in this community knows who did this. I'm asking each and every one of you to contact your friends and family. This isn't about snitching, this is about justice for victims."

The police department received multiple reports of people shooting in the area. Police said Thursday night during the news conference that it wasn't clear what led to the shooting.

The department has offered a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.