How a carjacking and shooting rampage terrorized a MD county

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The man saw the black Chevy sedan speeding toward his car before it struck.

When he got out to check on who was in the overturned sedan, he heard a gunshot and noticed its driver exiting the vehicle and holding an assault-style rifle. Then, bullets flew past his head.

Minutes before, a caller had reported to police that someone driving a black sedan had been firing gunshots out of the window, according to police and court documents – the beginning of a rampage that would span over an hour and across six locations in northern Prince George’s County.

In all, officials said 17 people, including children, were either shot at or carjacked Friday afternoon. Two victims were hospitalized, one critically, police said. All survived.

Police allege one man is responsible for the string of incidents: 68-year-old Larry James Simpson, whom records show was the registered owner of the overturned sedan, according to court documents.

Simpson remains jailed without bond following a court hearing earlier this week. Police charged him with 66 counts, including multiple counts of attempted first- and second-degree murder and assault.

Authorities determined the crimes were not terrorism-related, said Brian Fischer, a spokesperson for the Prince George’s County Police Department. Many of the victims appear to have Latino surnames. Police are not investigating the incidents as hate crimes, saying any similarities related to the victims appear to be coincidental, Fischer said.

The shootings and carjackings terrorized bystanders and led to a multiagency effort, prompting the lockdowns of several area schools during what would have been dismissal time on Friday.

Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara H. Jackson said it’s unclear what Simpson’s motive was for the shootings and carjackings.

But he’s no stranger to the criminal justice system. In 1987, Simpson was sentenced to life in prison, plus 40 years, after being convicted of first-degree murder in the county.

He filed a motion in 2022 requesting drug and alcohol evaluation, Jackson said. The court granted Simpson’s motion and he was transferred to the custody of the Maryland Health Department.

The next year, in October 2023, Simpson was released.

Jackson said there is no record of Simpson committing offenses between his release and the alleged rampage.

At court on Monday, a public defender representing Simpson waived a bond review hearing and offered no further details about the case. The Maryland Office of the Public Defender declined to comment.

Charging documents filed in Prince George’s County District Court outlined a timeline of what police say unfolded Friday:

The calls to 911 began at 2:40 p.m., when a witness reported seeing a shooting at Lakeland Road and Rhode Island Avenue in the College Park area. The witness reported they heard the gunshots as a black sedan drove by. The driver continued traveling toward Baltimore Avenue.

When police responded to the scene, they found several shell casings.

About 15 minutes later, officers were called to an overturned vehicle, a black sedan, at 67th Avenue and Patterson Street in the Riverdale area. Multiple victims reported they had been shot at by the vehicle’s driver, who was armed with a rifle and wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and light colored pants.

The victim whose car was struck by the sedan’s driver had jumped several fences to get away from the gunfire and hid in a backyard until police arrived. Another person reported that the driver began firing his rifle at people in vehicles at the intersection, records show. One person was taken to the hospital after being shot.

The suspect then hopped into a Nissan vehicle where someone had left their key in the ignition after being shot at. The driver fled the scene.

At 3:02 p.m. Friday, police were called to the intersection of Riverdale Road and Baltimore-Washington Parkway for reports of someone shooting from the window of a gold sedan while passing other vehicles. The car matched the description of the stolen vehicle.

A 64-year-old man was injured, police said, after shots shattered the driver’s side windshield of a vehicle, slicing his face.

Police received two other reports of a driver firing from a gold sedan, including one at Kenilworth Avenue and Good Luck Road, where the suspect shot at a car with children inside.

Near the same intersection, a man matching the description given by earlier victims fired a single round into the passenger window of a Toyota, demanded the victims exit the vehicle and then took off again. Minutes later, police heard from another victim who had been shot at by a man with an assault rifle in the same Toyota.

By 3:24 p.m., nearly an hour from the first call, authorities said the driver tried to take another car by force along Edmonston Road in Greenbelt, but was unable to operate the vehicle’s manual transmission.

Police said in the court documents the suspect fled the scene on foot, catching the attention of an off-duty officer who saw the attempted carjacking and chased him. The suspect fired shots in the officer’s direction.

U.S. Park Police, which had been following along with radio communication, arrived and took the suspect – identified as Simpson – into custody. Prince George’s Police Chief George Nader has said it appeared Simpson had run out of bullets.

According to the court documents, police recovered a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle, revolver and assorted ammunition in a plastic bag.

The records show Simpson was wearing a light blue jacket, light colored pants and carrying an assault rifle, matching victims’ descriptions. The recovered weapons also were consistent with the spent cartridge casings found at the scene, the documents said. Video also captured some of the incidents.

Simpson declined to make a statement to police, according to the charging documents. He is set to appear for a preliminary hearing June 15.

According to a questionnaire Simpson filled out for his initial court appearance, he had been living in Glen Burnie since his release. Simpson listed his marital status as separated and wrote that he was living alone before his arrest. He is unemployed, and listed his greatest recurring expense as his apartment rent of $850.

A neighbor of Simpson’s, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect his family, said Simpson was always quiet and respectful, and was often outside on his apartment balcony chatting with neighbors on the sidewalk. He also was known to chase people away from the apartment complex that didn’t belong, the neighbor said.

But the neighbor said he hadn’t seen Simpson on his balcony in about two weeks, calling it especially unusual as the weather got warm.

The neighbor said he had to check with his fiancée when he saw a mug shot of Simpson and learned what he was accused of.

The couple hadn’t known Simpson’s name, but his face was undeniable. He said they didn’t know their neighbor’s criminal background, either.

“It’s kind of disconcerting to me of who else would be living around me at this point,” the neighbor said.

Jasmine Golden is a reporter covering crime and courts on the Metro desk at The Washington Post.