Pr. George's Shooting Leaves 1 Dead, 1 Injured

Police Close Several Blocks of Branch Avenue

One man was killed and a second was injured early this morning in what appeared to be a gun battle between two cars driving on Branch Avenue in Prince George's County, police said.

Several blocks of northbound Branch Avenue were still closed as of 9:30 a.m., police said. Officers wanted to examine the crime scene in daylight and search for evidence.

The vehicles -- one a gray Honda, the other described only as black -- were traveling north in the 4100 block of Branch Avenue when the shooting began about 2 a.m., Prince George's County police spokesman Henry Tippett said.

Two men in the Honda were struck by bullets, and the car flipped over, Tippett said. One of the men, whose age was given as 25, was taken to a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds and pronounced dead a short time later. Police did not release his name, pending notification of his family.

The second man was pinned by the overturned Honda. After he was extricated, he was taken to a hospital and reported in stable condition, Tippett said.

The black car fled, and police were searching for it and its occupants.

Police are "looking into the possibility that there was some type of exchange of gunfire between the two vehicles," Tippett said. "I don't know whether anybody from the other vehicle was hit."

The northbound lanes of Branch Avenue were closed between St. Barnabas Street and Iverson Street, Tippett said.