REGIONAL BRIEFING

Monday, June 30, 2008

MARYLAND

Man Sought in Shooting of 2

Police were searching yesterday for a gunman in the shooting of a 33-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman outside a Silver Spring nightclub. The shootings took place about 5:30 a.m. after two groups got into an argument after leaving Caribbean Style restaurant on Ramsey Avenue, police said. It is unclear whether the victims, who were in stable condition at hospitals, were the intended targets, police said.

Police said they found 17 shell casings at the scene and were seeking a male suspect, described as about 5 feet 5 inches and 190 pounds, balding or with short hair. According to witnesses interviewed by police, the suspect, described as a black man in his mid-20s, was wearing a yellow shirt with an emblem on the front left side and had a stud earring in his left ear. He was with two men and a woman wearing a white shirt under a black top, police said.

Detectives from the 3rd District Investigative Section are asking anyone with information to call 301-565-5835. Callers may remain anonymous.

-- Kameel Stanley

Woman Dies, Man Hurt in Crash

Howard County police were investigating a two-car collision in Jessup on Saturday that left a woman dead and a man in serious condition.

Police said the woman, whose name was not released, was riding in the front passenger seat of a Toyota Camry headed north on Route 1 when the car was struck about 10:30 p.m. by a southbound Chevrolet Tahoe, driven by Rolando Huerta, 32, of Jessup.

The Camry, driven by Mario Perez, 39, of Columbia, was making a left turn into the Cedar Motel when it was hit on the passenger side, police said.

Perez was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, where he was listed in serious condition. No one in the Tahoe was injured, police said.

-- Kameel Stanley

2 Chosen for Montgomery Board

The Montgomery County Council has selected a community activist and a developer to fill two vacancies on the Planning Board, which sets land-use policy, oversees parks and reviews development plans.

Clarksburg Town Center community activist Amy Presley, who helped bring to light construction irregularities in the development, replaces Allison Bryant, whose term expired this month, in the Republican seat. Joseph Alfandre, who developed Kentlands in Gaithersburg, will fill the Democratic seat of Gene Lynch, who died in January.

The council unanimously backed Presley in its first round of voting Tuesday. Alfandre was chosen after a series of votes in which council members also nominated transit activist Ben Ross and former Prince George's County parks director Marye Wells-Harley.

-- Ann E. Marimow

THE DISTRICT

Man, 19, Shot on Bus in SE

A 19-year-old man was shot in the back and critically wounded on a Metrobus in Southeast Washington early yesterday, a Metro spokeswoman said.

The man was shot about 1 a.m. on the A6 route on Wheeler Road, after a dispute between two groups, said Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith.

Two teenagers, ages 14 and 17, were arrested and charged with assault in connection with the dispute, Smith said. However, she said, they were not charged in the shooting.

About 30 people were on the bus at the time of the incident. Most passengers appeared to be part of the groups involved in the dispute, Smith said. No details were immediately available about its cause.

The shooting appeared to be one of the most serious attacks on a Metro bus or rail line. Smith said statistics show that the Metro system is safe and that the likelihood of being the victim of a crime is extremely low.

-- Martin Weil

Plans Sought for Closed Schools

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty has announced that the city is seeking applications from charter schools and agencies interested in leasing eight closed school buildings.

Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee decided to close 23 under-enrolled schools this year, most of them this summer. The move was in response to a steady enrollment decline and an effort to save money.

"We hope to identify a reuse option for these public properties that allows us to both preserve and revitalize our communities," Fenty (D) said in a statement Friday.

The schools are Clark Elementary in Northwest, Rudolph Elementary in Northwest, J.F. Cook Elementary in Northwest, M.M. Washington Senior High in Northwest, Taft Special Education Center in Northeast, Backus Middle in Northeast, the 1911 building next to Randle Highlands Elementary in Southeast and the old Grimke Elementary in Northwest. The building next to Randle Highlands and the Grimke school closed before this year.

Fenty's spokeswoman said the Office of Property Management will issue requests for proposals next week.

-- V. Dion Haynes