Prince George’s County police on Thursday said they arrested and charged a man in the deadly shooting that erupted at the MGM National Harbor Resort & Casino a day earlier.
Authorities said they took Benjamin Williams, 22, into custody on murder charges after he was accused of gunning down 23-year-old Darnell Hawkins Jr. in MGM’s food court Wednesday.
Police Chief George Nader said Mr. Williams was arrested at a home in College Park at about 2 a.m. Thursday.
“The murder of Mr. Hawkins is not a statistic,” the chief said. “Mr. Hawkins was a person. He was a father, he was a brother, he was a son. He meant a lot to his family. He meant a lot to his community.”
Police said the gunman did not interact with Mr. Hawkins prior to opening fire on the victim, who was waiting in line to order food. The shooter continued to unload bullets at Mr. Hawkins as he lay on the ground.
Officials said the suspect then ran to a waiting car and was driven away, all of which was captured by surveillance footage at MGM.
“What played a vital role in solving this case was the caliber of video at MGM at National Harbor,” Chief Nader said. “There’s almost no areas in the MGM that’s not covered by video, and that was instrumental in bringing this case to a swift closure.”
Investigators have said they believe the two men knew each other, but no motive for the killing has been shared yet.
“Today we mourn the death of a young 23-year-old, who had his full life ahead of him,” Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy said at the Thursday briefing. “I think one of the important things to note is that this was, we believe, a targeted attack, and that there is no general safety issues at MGM. MGM is a safe place to go.”
Chief Nader said Wednesday that the shooting was a rarity for MGM, noting that violent crime is down 32% at the complex this year.
