Man charged for northern PG County shooting, carjacking spree

By Alvin Wu
Domestic Affairs
Man charged for northern PG County shooting, carjacking spree

Left: Mugshot of Larry James Simpson. Right: AR-15 style rifle recovered by police. PGPD/Handout

COLLEGE PARK, Md., May 17 (ZFJ) — Larry James Simpson, 68, of Glen Burnie, was charged with 66 offenses in connection with a violent crime spree in Prince George’s County on Friday, May 15.

The Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) alleges that Simpson committed multiple shootings and carjackings in five locations across northern P.G. County.

At about 2:30 p.m., police received a call for a man pointing a long gun out of his car window in the 5100 block of Pierce Avenue in College Park. Witnesses reported that the man fired several shots, and nobody was reported injured.

At 2:51 p.m., Simpson allegedly shot at a car with a 64-year-old man inside on Riverdale Road at the BW Parkway in Riverdale. A round struck the car’s window, and the broken glass caused lacerations to the victim’s head, although he was not hit by gunfire. The man was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

At 2:58 p.m., Simpson’s car crashed into another car at the intersection of 67th Avenue and Patterson Street in Riverdale, causing his car to overturn. Police say Simpson exited his car and carjacked a Nissan here. During the carjacking, he fired upon at least four victims, one of whom was hit and critically injured. He is expected to survive.

Several minutes later, Simpson shot at a woman and carjacked her Toyota at Kenilworth Avenue and Good Luck Road in Riverdale. The victim was not injured.

An off-duty, unarmed PGPD officer in his personal vehicle witnessed this carjacking. He had been alerted to an active shooter incident by his wife, also a PGPD officer, and began to pursue Simpson while relaying information to his wife, who then relayed it to the rest of the department.

Police say that Simpson finally attempted to carjack a Honda in the 9000 block of Edmonston Road in Greenbelt. Here, Simpson fired at the pursuing off-duty county officer, who was not struck. Three U.S. Park Police (USPP) officers then arrived and helped take Simpson into custody. Police say they recovered an AR-15 style rifle at the scene.

Simpson was taken to the hospital for injuries believed to have been sustained in the Riverdale car crash. He has been charged with 16 counts of attempted first degree murder, 16 counts of attempted second degree murder, and related offenses, and more charges are possible. He is currently in the custody of the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections (PGDOC).

In a series of community alerts, the University of Maryland Police Department (UMPD) said that it responded to Lakeland Road and Rhode Island Avenue to assist PGPD in investigating reported gunfire. Officers gathered information from a witness who confirmed the incident. PGPD has confirmed that the suspect they arrested was connected to the off-campus incident in College Park.

In a Friday press conference, PGPD Chief George Nader said that additional officers were sent to schools, which were placed on lockdown, until the situation was clearer. He added that local police have been coordinating with FBI Baltimore, although they do not presently believe the incident was terrorism-related.

Nader thanked the community and partner police agencies for their assistance and noted that the time between the initial police notifications and suspect apprehension was 10-15 minutes.

The investigation is active and ongoing. Detectives are seeking information from witnesses and any additional victims. Anyone with information is asked to contact the PGPD Gun Crimes Unit at (301) 772-8960 or contact Crime Solvers online at www.pgcrimesolvers.com, via the P3 Tips mobile app, or by call at 1 (866) 411-TIPS (8477) and reference case number 26-0025767.

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