2 Dead In Largo Pizzeria Shooting

3rd Man Wounded During Super Bowl

Two men were shot to death and a third was wounded last night after an argument broke out in a Prince George's County restaurant while the Super Bowl was being shown on television there, county police said.

The shooting occurred about 9:20 p.m. inside an Uno Chicago Grill restaurant, part of a sizable dining, shopping and entertainment complex that replaced the old Capital Centre sports arena in the Largo area.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the argument. It apparently occurred just after one of the teams in the game had scored, but according to Cpl. Stephen Pacheco, a spokesman for county police, investigators could not say whether the dispute involved the National Football League championship game.

"We don't know if it had anything to do with it," Pacheco said.

"Something happened," he said, "and someone produced a handgun."

Authorities said two of the men were shot in the bar area of the restaurant, which has long been known for pizza. It is on a street called Shoppers Way.

The third man was apparently attacked as the assailant fled; authorities believed that he was shot somewhere inside or close to the restaurant, but it was not clear exactly where or why he was targeted.

Police said the suspect fled in a red Dodge Charger. Accounts indicated that he drove down a patch of sloping ground to hasten his escape. It was not known if he had any connection to any of the victims.

Pacheco said the victims were all apparently shot in the upper body. The wounded man was in critical condition. No other details about the men could be learned.

Accounts of witnesses, whose names could not be obtained, indicated that the dispute in the restaurant had escalated from words to blows before the shooting. A manager at a nearby restaurant said some of his employees heard gunshots about the time the New York Giants scored a touchdown against the New England Patriots.

That touchdown, early in the fourth quarter of a tense contest, put the Giants ahead by a score of 10-7. The Giants went on to win the game, 17-14.

Someone who answered the telephone last night at Uno, a one-story structure with red awnings and a red-brick front, declined to comment.

Pacheco described the shootings, which took place in a middle-class neighborhood just outside the Capital Beltway, as uncommon. The area is about a mile east of FedEx Field and less than a half-mile north of the Largo Town Center Metro stop.

"It's not an everyday occurrence," Pacheco said. "We're extremely concerned about this."