Three people were shot and two others were stabbed in apparently unrelated incidents in the same shopping center parking lot in Laurel, Maryland, after a large Cinco de Mayo celebration late Tuesday night, police told WRC-TV.
Investigators said the chaos began just after 10 p.m.
‘Ridiculous.’
WRC said a big crowd gathered at Amigos Mexican Grill — which is part of the Centre at Laurel shopping center — for a large Cinco de Mayo celebration; social media posts showed numerous groups of people inside and outside the restaurant.
Police were dispersing the crowd after the event ended when at least one person fired gunshots, WRC said. Three were wounded in front of Longhorn Steakhouse, which is next to Amigos Mexican Grill.
The shooting was captured on video and posted on social media, WRC reported, adding that video shows several males arguing and punching each other in front of the steakhouse; a burst of gunfire is audible. People began to run away when the gunfire erupted, the station said.
The victims were taken to a nearby hospital, WRC said.
The Laurel Police Department on Wednesday posted images of who they say is the shooting suspect and asked “all community members to watch and share the video linked below to help ensure the individual is identified as quickly as possible. If you recognize the person in the footage or have any information that may aid investigators, please contact the Laurel Police Department. Your cooperation is vital to the progress of this investigation and the safety of our community.”
The WRC video report below shows a car parked in front of Longhorn Steakhouse with several bullet holes on its side as well as a shattered window.
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The station said that while police were dealing with the shooting, a stabbing occurred near Amigos Mexican Grill in which two people were hurt.
Police told WRC said that all five victims of the shooting and stabbing are in stable condition and expected to survive.
The station said at this point it doesn’t appear that the two incidents are connected — they just happened in the same parking lot, one right after the other.
A man who drove by Amigos Mexican Grill told WRC he decided to not attend the Cinco de Mayo event after he noticed the size of the crowd: “We attempted to come. My daughter and everybody wanted to come up here, but we knew this was an unusual amount of people … since last year. It was just way more people this year.”
Another man added to the station that it’s “horrible” that people “can’t come enjoy themselves without that happening. I mean, that’s ridiculous.”
WRC said police are asking those with video of the incidents to upload them to the Laurel police website by using a QR code since no arrests have been made yet.
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