.
Feedback

Hamilton Street Shooting Wounds Two

19 shots fired in early morning incident in Hyattsville.

Two people have been injured during an overnight drive-by shooting near the intersection of Queens Chapel Road and Hamilton Street in Hyattsville. 

The incident began around 2:55 a.m. at the nearby Shell Gas station. 

According to Sgt. Chris Purvis, public information officer for the Hyattsville City Police Department, two groups of friends in two cars were at the gas station when a small, dark colored four-door compact vehicle turned from Hamilton Street into the Shell parking lot. Then suddenly, shots rang out from, police believe, within the dark compact car before it sped off. 

Purvis said the most amazing aspect of the shooting was the fact that the shooter had to have driven past a nearby police officer on patrol.

"Our guy was set up next door in the Aldi's parking lot with his lights on and everything, keeping an eye on the establishments," said Purvis. "The guy had to have seen him."

In all 19 shots were fired. The nearby police officer at first thought he was hearing firecrackers, according to Purvis. When police arrived on the scene, they discovered one man suffering from gunshot wounds to the buttocks and stomach.

Later, police discovered they had a second victim, a woman who police describe as a bystander, had suffered a gunshot wound to the right hands and lip but had driven herself to the hospital for treatment. 

The hail of bullets also damaged property nearby. The gas station door was shot out, and bullet marks apparently can be seen on the gas station building, according to Purvis.

sassyaxie March 17, 2013 at 02:47 pm
Hoping they catch the shooters and jail them forever.
Carolyn Miller March 17, 2013 at 02:53 pm
Nothing good happens after midnight.
Sophie Gail March 17, 2013 at 03:30 pm
All this under the guard of Hysttsville's finest. The nap turned into a hard sleep not to be awoken by a spray of gunshots. Almost Unbelievable.
Michael Theis (Editor) March 17, 2013 at 03:59 pm
The officer was not napping, he was on patrol as the area establishments emptied out for the evening.
13BETS March 17, 2013 at 04:46 pm
Are you that big of a jerk! Yes, it is unbelievable that you would make a comment like you did!
BigDan March 17, 2013 at 04:56 pm
Chances are he was napping. Hyattsville cops are the laziest in the area and the most inept. Thats why the shooters had no issues with doing what they did in front of him.
BigDan March 17, 2013 at 04:59 pm
13bets, how is that guy a jerk? I take it you're either A) that cop in question, B) a member of the Hyattsville Clown Brigade (aka the HCPD) C) a family member of a hyattsville cop, or D) a hyattsville fanboy who will now try and spin this horrible crime into something like "Oh it was WEST Hyattsville and not my beloved Artsy Fartsy Hyattsville!"
13BETS March 17, 2013 at 06:21 pm
No BigDan I am none of the above. I don't live in Hyattsville either. You can not keep blaming the cops for everything that goes bad. Where the police,SS,FBI sleeping when Kennedy,Reagan shot --no they were not! So why do some people first fine fault with the police calling them out saying that they weren't doing the job. Hopefully they will find and arrest the shooter (s) and give them more then a slap on the hand. Do you have any idea how quick you can fire off 19 shots or more. I do and by the time you hear them going off from a moving car that car is gone.It is a horrible crime and if this is the norm for Hyattsvilleyou live in Hyattsville I would be asking questions-- to the Mayor and Police Chief are we fully staff and if they aren't then why? You made a remark about West Hyattsville and Artsy Fartsy Hyattsville again I don't live in Hyattsville that means nothing to me.
michael bedney March 18, 2013 at 11:28 am
Hyattsville police aint never around when serious crimes are in the area but are the first to have 6cars on a traffic stop or a drunk sleep at a bus stop or a domestic dispute.....ijs
ana moran March 18, 2013 at 11:31 am
I want to know if they have a description of the car, color make etc.
Wil_e_cat33 March 18, 2013 at 01:07 pm
I used to bartend at those bars on Hamilton street.....around 2:30-3:00 a.m is when it's gets pretty wild. Lee's over serves their alcohol at times and most Hyattsville police can be found inside their patrolling. Then when Lee's closes at 2am....the bar across the street is open til 3am (so an overly drunk person can drink even more) not to mention all the liquor stores on the same street and they are all open 7 days a week....sounds like a recipe for crime and destruction! In my opinion the safest spot on that strip is alcapoco!
Friday and Saturday nights needs to have heavier patrol. Too many cops inside these establishments patrolling, but not enough on foot outside! If college park does it to control crime.....why can't Hyattsville?!?!?!? I think the new art district has generated enough revenue to afford the extra cost for Hyattsville to put more officers on duty Friday & Saturday night. You can't build up certain areas and leaves others less than a mile away to rot!
Gretchen Ward Waller March 18, 2013 at 01:07 pm
Wild, wild West Hyattsville! SMH.
Jim Groves March 18, 2013 at 06:09 pm
First, all you trolls (BigDan) should get a life. Second, nobody knows the particulars about this. As far as you know, the people could have been driving in from Montgomery County or DC and just stopped at that Shell. So, it sucks that it was in Hyattsville, but it could have been anyway. If a meteor hit Hyattsville, would you blame Hyattsville for that? Stop the hating and trolling. You got a problem with the police, then get up off your ass in front of the computer and go complain at the Council Meeting. Otherwise, STFU.
Michael Theis (Editor) March 18, 2013 at 08:14 pm
A comment from Scot Brown was deleted because it violated the Patch Terms of Use conditions prohibiting language which is defamatory, abusive, obscene, profane or offensive and is threatening, harassing or that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual.
Scot Brown March 18, 2013 at 08:31 pm
"Why oh why did I give Hyattsville a chance... I should have bought in Silver Spring! My drug dealing neighbor called me a homophobic slur this weekend becuase I called the cops on them about the drugs and they vandalized my motorcycle. Now a drive by shooting. And what is the city council doing, fighting over SIDEWALKS. Ugh!
BigDan March 18, 2013 at 08:53 pm
AH YES! I have a different opinion than you Jim Groves so I MUST be a troll.
Yes the particulars ARE known if you get off a site like this and read the local news stations you will see far more detail. I chose to post here because Hyattsville has 1) a reputation for retaliating against those that speak ill of it...I can't imagine the police department would be more receptive. and 2) Hyattsville has people like you who sit around and TROLL sites and people like me to spread the gospel of Hyattsville. I am not a troll just because I have a higher expectation of our police department and our city. It is sad and shameful that you just sit here, troll and accept the sad state of affairs in this town. The statement "I thought it was firecrackers" underscores my point about the cops in this town...If you hear firecrackers AT A GAS STATION...then perhaps you should check it out so it doesn't EXPLODE.
BigDan March 18, 2013 at 08:59 pm
13bets if you do not live here than what do you care? You seem defensive of law enforcement so I'm going to assume you're involved with them some way.
Guess what? So am I. One of my closest friends is a cop in DC. He's said before that Hyattsville cops are rejects of the DC and PG police academies. (He knows of one individual who flunked out and was also "racially aggressive" towards minorities) Not all cops are good. Not all cops are smart. This goes for military, doctors, etc. There are bad eggs in every bunch. If West Hyattsville and Artsy Fartsy mean nothing to you, then forget about it and move on. If you don't live here, and don't deal with these rejects like I do, then don't act high and mighty about them
Scot Brown March 18, 2013 at 09:09 pm
Really man... I wrote about how I was verbally assaulted in my own driveway and I get deleted but you let BigDan and Jim Groves flame each other? I was talking about crime in Hyattsville, one that actually happened to me and makes me want to move.
BigDan March 18, 2013 at 09:21 pm
There's no flaming going on. We simply have a difference of opinion. I saw your original comment through email and the homophobic slur is what got you deleted.
BigDan March 18, 2013 at 09:25 pm
And since the maturity level of posters in this thread is below my standard I am unsubscribing to this thread and site.
Enjoy your cheerleading Jim
Michael Theis (Editor) March 18, 2013 at 09:46 pm
I know what you were talking about, however the larger context of the incident was not readily apparent in your brief comment. Using that language, even if you were the recipient of it, is just not acceptable on this site.
NunyaBuzness March 18, 2013 at 09:53 pm
I guess cops around the USA are sleeping everytime something bad happens? Let's see....the ratio is 20,000:3...yes, makes sense that they should have been able to read the minds of some crazy people and prevented a shooting. BigDan you may want to invest all of your energy in finding a new home. Looking at your comments over the past few months it doesn't appear that Hyattsville is doing it for you anymore. ByeBye
13BETS March 19, 2013 at 01:07 am
Big Dan run and hide if you must.I've gone back and check on some of your pass posting and you say the same thing again and again-
" One of my closest friends is a cop in DC. He's said before that Hyattsville cops are rejects of the DC and PG police academies. (He knows of one individual who flunked out and was also "racially aggressive" towards minorities)" If this is true and I'm sure that you're just blowing this out your !@## then evry cop in Hyattsville was a flunk out.I don't think you jerk. Now whats up with this " Not all cops are good. Not all cops are smart. This goes for military, doctors, etc. There are bad eggs in every bunch" Do you just spend your life hating everyone? Who in the HELL are you calling rejects??? The Police??? Now,now you jerk thats not nice. You sure don't play well with other do you. I was acting high and mighty just pointing out the truth and if you can understand that to bad. "If you don't live here, and don't deal with these rejects like I do, then don't act high and mighty about them"
Jim Groves March 19, 2013 at 03:14 am
Big Dan, you are a troll because all you do is reply to this sites with comments that put down Hyattsville and its police without offering any kind of constructive input or even fact to support your inane comments. Do you even live in Hyattsville? If so, what are you doing to help? If not, why do you post your crap here? Again, you don't know the full circumstances of the shooting so until you do, you are simply trolling this site. Volunteer. Write a blog. Talk to the chief about your concerns. 301-985-5000, ask for Chief Holland. Put up or shut up.
Scot Brown March 19, 2013 at 01:33 pm
ok your site your rules...

Newsletter & Alerts

Get the best stories each day and important breaking news

Subscribe

Not from Hyattsville Patch? Find your Local Patch »

Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Sarah Lawler June 18, 2013 at 03:58 pm
will old news stories be brought over to the new site?
Michael Theis (Editor) June 18, 2013 at 04:04 pm
Yeah. It seems as if some old stories, particularly ones recently posted, did not migrate over toRead More the new site, yet. Our help desk is working on this problem, and we hope to have a resolution before long.
Michael Theis (Editor) June 18, 2013 at 10:29 am
Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to continue to use these boards to help reach your neighbors.
V.A. Carter June 19, 2013 at 01:11 pm
I really like the new look. Is there any chance that Hyattsville Patch can begin to cover issuesRead More that happen in Lewisdale since it's a subdivision of Hyattsville?