Prince George’s County police said a man was gunned down in a “targeted shooting” Wednesday afternoon at the MGM National Harbor Resort & Casino in Oxon Hill.
Police Chief George Nader said the suspect made a beeline toward the victim inside MGM’s food court around noon moments before shots rang out.
“It wasn’t random, and this person did not happen-upon this person,” Chief Nader said. “It appeared that they were looking for this person, chased them down, and this shooting occurred right there in the food court.”
The chief said no one else was wounded in the shooting, dispelling earlier reports that another man suffered a graze wound in the gunfire.
Officials said the victim, who was only described as a man in his 20s, was ordering food when the shooter got the jump on him. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooter ran to a waiting car immediately afterward and was driven away. Chief Nader said the gunman was no longer in National Harbor by the time police arrived.
He added that he wouldn’t provide a suspect description in order to protect the investigation’s leads.
“We’re confident that we’ll close this case,” the chief said.
The food court has been cordoned off for the investigation, but police said the rest of MGM’s complex remains open to the public.
Chief Nader also emphasized that Wednesday’s shooting was rare for MGM, with violent crime down 32% at the popular venue so far this year.
“MGM is safe. The harbor is safe,” the chief said. “This was a targeted incident. We believe that it would have folded out anywhere once these two individuals came into the same area.”
