Man in argument fatally shot outside Indian Head restaurant

An argument in the parking lot of an Indian Head bar turned deadly early Saturday, Charles County police said.

Authorities do not know what the two men were fighting about in front of Mattawoman Seafood Restaurant on Route 225 about 1:15 a.m., but they say one drew a gun and fired several rounds.

Charles County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Diane Richardson said the gunfire wounded the "intended target" as well as a person who was sitting inside a car with his back to the shooter.

Friends drove the victims, who did not know each other, away in separate cars.

The man who had been arguing with the shooter was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Fort Washington Hospital, said Capt. Rob Cleaveland. The victim's name is being withheld pending notification of relatives.

The other shooting victim's injuries were not considered life-threatening, officials said Saturday afternoon.

A suspect has not been identified. Many people fled the scene, and Richardson said police have little information. Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact investigators.

The restaurant, at 5024 Hawthorne Rd., has a busy bar scene, especially on weekends. In 1987, a Friday night gun battle left 11 wounded after an argument between two men who police said had been feuding for years.

In June, officers arrested a 28-year-old Fort Washington man at the restaurant with 18 small bags of crack cocaine. A woman who answered the phone at the restaurant and identified herself as the manager said that Mattawoman opened for business at noon Saturday. "Sometimes, unfortunately, we have problems where people might come from another club late at night," the woman said. "They're already intoxicated, or they have had a previous altercation, then arguments and confrontations occur in the parking lot. Other than that, we don't have that problem."