Hyattsville, Maryland: Police Identify Two of Three People Killed in Prince George's County Homicides on Thursday

Three people were killed in separate attacks across Prince George's County in the space of about seven hours on Thursday, and on Friday police identified two of them. The killings in College Park, Landover and Hyattsville prompted the county police chief to issue a public statement reassuring residents that investigators do not believe the attacks were random or connected to each other.

Three attacks in one morning

The first call came from College Park. At about 4:15 a.m. on Thursday, officers responded to a reported stabbing in the 9900 block of 51st Terrace and found a man inside a residence with trauma to his body, police said. Despite lifesaving measures, he died at the scene. Police identified him on Friday as Jose Edin Hernandez Vasquez, 26, of College Park.

About an hour later, at around 5:15 a.m., officers were called to the 1700 block of Belle Haven Drive in Landover, between Martin Luther King Jr. Highway and Sheriff Road. They found a man lying in the roadway who had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not identified him, and he is the only one of the three victims whose name has not been released.

The third discovery came shortly before 11 a.m. in Hyattsville, where a landscaping worker found a body in a wooded area near Langley-Hampshire Neighborhood Park, not far from an elementary school. Police identified the man on Friday as Omar Jonathan Ventura Ajbal, 18, of Hyattsville. He had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators have not said how long his body had been at the location before it was found.

What the police chief is saying

County police said in a Thursday statement that the three homicides are not believed to be random or related. No suspects have been apprehended in any of the cases, and detectives are working to establish a motive in each one, FOX 5 reported. Police Chief George Nader told FOX 5 the killings appear to be isolated and targeted, and that the community is not in danger from a random attacker.

In his written statement, Nader pointed to the county's longer trend. Before Thursday, he said, homicides in Prince George's County were down 33 percent compared with the same time last year, and down 55 percent compared with the same time in 2024.

"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," Nader said in the statement. "Behind every homicide is a life lost, a family grieving, and a community forever changed."

What is still unknown

Friday's identifications answered one question for two families, but much about Thursday is still open. The Landover victim remains unnamed. Police have announced no arrests and no suspect descriptions in any of the three cases, and they have not said what led to the stabbing in College Park or to either shooting.

Anyone with information about the killings is asked to call the Prince George's County Police homicide unit at 301-516-2512. For the Hyattsville case, police ask callers to reference case number 26-0057681.