Silver Spring Man Pleads Guilty In Bowie Triple Murder

SILVER SPRING, MD — One man accused of shooting and killing three people at Blue Sunday Bar & Grill in Bowie in January 2017 pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime, WTOP reports.

The man, Karlief Moye, shot himself twice as police closed in on him after the shooting, Patch reported at the time. He was taken to an area hospital for treatment after the shooting.

Prince George's County Police were called to the scene of the shooting in the 6800 block of Race Track Road in Bowie about 2:15 a.m. on Jan. 30, 2017. When they arrived, officers found three victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Two were pronounced dead at the scene and a third later died from his injuries, according to a report from the Prince George's County Police Department.

The victims were later identified as Sherwood Morgan, 46, of Lake Arbor Way in Mitchellville, Jin Chen, 27, of Dove Circle in Laurel, and Xue Zou, 28, of Doves Fly Way in Laurel.

Moye reportedly worked at the restaurant as a bartender, reported WJLA, and may have posted about a disagreement on Facebook a week before the shootings. He wrote " 'Say word?' All the free advise I gave you and you want to hit me with a fee for consultation. This is what the world is coming too?"

Neighbors told the TV station Moye is friendly, and lives with a relative and her teenage daughter. He was known for fixing up cars and shoveling the sidewalk in front of an elderly couple's home, a neighbor said.
Restaurant employees have said that Morgan was a manager at the restaurant, which just opened in recent weeks.

Police identified Moye as the suspect, and as they were searching the area around his home in Silver Spring, "they observed him running into a wooded area of the Northwest Branch Park," the police report says. Authorities say he shot himself twice.

All of the victims and the suspect were employees at the restaurant. Police think the shooting stemmed from a dispute between the employees. (For more news and information like this, subscribe to the Silver Spring Patch for free. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. Don't forget to like us on Facebook!)

Moye faces up to life in prison, WTOP reported. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 9.

Related on Patch:

• Silver Spring Man Accused of Killing 3 at Bowie Restaurant

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