Authorities in three Maryland counties reported a spate of violence in recent days that claimed five lives and left four others wounded.
Four of the killings are under investigation by police in Prince George’s County.
Police there said a man was gunned down around 4:35 a.m. Saturday on Quire Avenue.
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Officers said the victim, who wasn’t identified, died at the scene. No description of a suspect has been released and detectives are still trying to determine a motive.
Saturday’s killing followed two deadly shootings and a fatal stabbing in the county on Thursday morning.
Around 4:15 a.m. Thursday in the 9900 block of 51st Terrace in College Park, officers found Jose Edin Hernandez Vasquez suffering from stab wounds.
Officers tried to treat the 26-year-old at the scene, but he died inside the residence.
An hour later, police were called to a shooting in Landover that left a man dead.
Authorities said the man, whose identity wasn’t made available, was found suffering from gunshot wounds in the middle of a road in the 1700 block of Belle Haven Drive. He was declared dead at the scene.
A third killing Thursday happened at a park in Hyattsville just before 11 a.m.
Police said officers rushed to Langley-Hampshire Neighborhood Park and found Omar Jonathan Ventura Ajbal, 18, with bullet wounds. Police said the victim was found unresponsive in a wooded area of the park, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
No suspects or motives have been established in any of Thursday’s slayings in Prince George’s County. Police said none of the killings are related, but they also do not appear to be random.
“While the reductions in murders reflect meaningful progress and demonstrate that our efforts and strategies are making a difference, we will never lose sight of the human cost of violence,” Police Chief George Nader said in a statement. “Behind every homicide is a life lost, a family grieving, and a community forever changed. Even one murder is one too many.”
County crime statistics show the 37 homicides logged so far in 2026 represent a 31% decrease through Oct. 31 of last year.
Just south of Prince George’s County in Waldorf, local authorities said a security guard shot and killed a man who had stabbed another man inside a bar.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office said the shooting happened around 1:45 a.m. Saturday in the 2500 block of Business Park Court.
Two men began fighting inside the establishment, investigators said, when one of the patrons pulled out a knife and threatened the other man.
Authorities said a security guard tried to wrestle the knife out of the suspect’s hands, but the assailant wiggled free and plunged the knife into the patron’s stomach.
The sheriff’s office said the suspect prepared to stab the victim again, but the security guard unholstered his firearm and shot the knife-wielding man in the chest.
Investigators said the suspect walked out of the bar and collapsed in the parking lot. The sheriff’s office identified the suspect as 41-year-old William Pierre Strong.
Police said the stabbing victim is expected to survive.
And in Montgomery County, local police said a triple shooting early Saturday in Silver Spring left two adults and a teenager wounded.
Police said the shooting erupted around 1:50 a.m. Saturday in the 11900 block of Bournefield Way when a suspect opened fire during a large, organized outdoor meet-up.
Officials said one of the adults had life-threatening injuries and was rushed to a hospital. The victim was later upgraded to stable condition. The other adult and the teenager wounded in the shooting suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said they are still searching for the suspect.
Early Sunday, police said they responded to a stabbing near Cabin John.
Officers found a man with stab wounds around 12:50 a.m. Sunday in the 6400 block of 81st Street.
The man is expected to survive the stabbing. Police said they arrested another man in connection with the stabbing.
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