Police Look Into Killing of D.C. Teen
By Aaron C. Davis and Avis Thomas-Lester
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, September 5, 2008
An 8-month-old boy killed in his car seat Wednesday night in Suitland had been struck by one of more than a dozen bullets apparently intended for his father and possibly his mother, and detectives are investigating whether the slaying is linked to the killing of a teenage girl Sunday in the District, police said yesterday.
Prince George's County police identified the infant as Anthony Maurice Savoy III. He was hit in the head shortly before 9 p.m. as he sat in the back of a minivan in the parking lot of an apartment complex.
His father, Anthony Savoy II, was shot several times and was in critical but stable condition yesterday. His name had come up in connection with the shooting death of Ashlee Russell, 18, in the 100 block of 46th Street in Northeast Washington, near the Benning Road Metro stop, according to two police sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because both cases remain unsolved.
One of the sources said that Savoy was not a suspect in Sunday's slaying and that investigators had not been searching for him. The other said that Savoy had been questioned.
Maj. Daniel Dusseau, head of major crimes for Prince George's police, confirmed that officers are "actively looking to see if there is a connection" between the fatal shootings. Dusseau said detectives are pursuing several possible motives.
An entire squad of county homicide detectives remained on the case yesterday, and dozens of officers fanned out through neighborhoods surrounding the Shadylane Garden Apartments last night, pleading for witnesses to come forward.
"We will need some assistance to close this one," said Acting Police Chief Roberto Hylton, who took over the department Monday. "We all should be outraged by something like this happening in our community. And I'll tell you something: I am not going to tolerate this type of violence in Prince George's County."
Police distributed fliers bearing two pictures of the child and announcing a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. It urges witnesses to call the county's anonymous tip line at 866-411-TIPS (8477).
County police also released what little information they said witnesses have provided about the suspect: The shooter was black and heavyset, or possibly muscular. He had dreadlocks, wore a black T-shirt and fled in a dark-colored Chevrolet Impala with two other men.
"It's not a lot, but when we don't have a lot, we put that much out so that at least people aren't looking for someone else," said Cpl. Clinton Copeland, a police spokesman.
Vernon Herron, the county's public safety director, said the public should take a small amount of comfort in the police's belief that the gunman did not fire indiscriminately.
"The community does not need to feel alarmed that there is some random killer on the loose. . . . We do not believe it was a random act," Herron said. "Any killing is a tragedy, but an 8-month-old is just a horrific, horrific crime, and we are going to work around the clock to make sure whoever is responsible is brought to justice."
That was little solace to some who visited the crime scene yesterday, bearing flowers and teddy bears. At the request of his 9-year-old daughter, Joe Brown placed a teddy bear and a stuffed cat beside the broken glass, dried blood and yellow spray paint marking some of the 22 spots where officers recovered shell casings and other evidence.
"This is an innocent child," Brown said. "I don't know, I'm kind of desensitized to young men and [the father] getting shot, but this is an 8-month-old. It's extremely emotional. I'm thinking about my kids, because it could have been one of them."
June White Dillard, president of the county's chapter of the NAACP, echoed that sentiment, saying the killing was "extremely disconcerting" for the public.
It was for police and county emergency workers, too. Firefighters and medical workers were visibly shaken after trying to help the child Wednesday night. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
"This is tragic for all of us. Our energy level is really up," Hylton said. "We're going to do everything to solve this."
Staff writer Paul Duggan and researcher Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report.
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