Crews' Feud Probed in Homicide

Prince George's County police are investigating the possibility that the shooting at a Landover townhouse complex late Tuesday, which killed a young mother, resulted from a feud between two neighborhood crews.

Two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation said police are looking into whether the shooting, which killed Shai R. Caldwell, 19, of Bowie and injured three others, is linked to a conflict between young men from Centennial Village, where the shooting occurred, and the Ardwick Ardmore area.

Members of the groups got into an altercation Tuesday night outside the Comcast Center in College Park after the commencement program for Charles H. Flowers High School, the sources said. Police believe some members and associates of both groups attend Flowers, but it was unclear whether any students or former students were involved in the fight, said the sources, who did not want to be identified because the investigation is continuing.

The shooting on Continental Place in Centennial Village, a complex of townhouses near FedEx Field, capped a series of incidents between crews from that neighborhood and Ardmore, including a fight at a barbecue last weekend, according to police. Some of the Ardmore members went to the Comcast Center on Tuesday looking for two men believed to be associated with Centennial Village, one police source said.

"The guys from Centennial Village may have been inside the Comcast Center watching the graduation, but the Ardmore gang members didn't go there for any reason other than to cause trouble," one of the sources said.

A security camera in the Comcast Center parking lot shows an altercation between young men, who scattered when campus police arrived, police sources said. During the fight, at least one of the young men was beaten, and he went to the party on Continental Place to exact revenge, one source said.

Two people who were at the party described it as an informal gathering outside. Dozens of young people milled about, celebrating at least three Flowers graduates who were there, when a black Ford Mustang and a silver Honda Accord drove past, one of the partygoers said. At least one person fired, the police sources said.

"All of a sudden, there was just all this shooting," the partygoer said.

As the crowd scattered, four people fell. Caldwell, the mother of a 15-month-old girl, was hit once in the back as she fled. LaQueen Lyttle and Kendra Adams, both 20, and an unidentified 22-year-old man were also hit. One of the people at the party said the victims were standing near three young men who are associated with the Centennial Village crew. None of the victims is associated with the crews, and none is attending Flowers, although the three women were former students.

Gang conflict has also been blamed for another death related to Flowers: A Lanham man was sentenced to 25 years in the slaying of Cherrese Richardson, 18, who was shot in January 2008 while walking home from the school. Authorities said that shooting stemmed from a feud between the Ardmore crew and another local crew and that Richardson, who was not involved with either gang, was not the intended target.

Lyttle said she, Adams and Caldwell had been friends at Flowers. She said she did not see who shot her and is thankful to be alive even as she mourns Caldwell.

"I'm really sore and I've been sleeping a lot, but I'm doing pretty well," she said.

Henry Armwood, a parent liaison at Flowers, said that the commencement was quiet but that he heard that a dispute erupted between 8 and 8:30 p.m. afterward. Flowers draws students from several neighborhoods in central Prince George's, from gated Woodmore to economically depressed areas.

As part of their investigation, detectives have returned to the scene of the shooting several times, but residents have been reluctant to provide information for fear of becoming a target of the crews, said Officer Henry Tippett, a police spokesman.

Those with information can call the Crime Solvers line at 1-866-411-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous. To speak to a detective, witnesses can call 301-772-4925, police said.

"We hope people will come forward to provide information that will lead to closure in this case," Tippett said.

Staff writer Nelson Hernandez contributed to this report.