Dominique Williams, 32, of Hyattsville and James Lionel Johnson, 38, of District Heights, were shot by a member of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, the Takoma Park Police Department said Thursday.
Authorities say the incident took place at about 5 a.m. Wednesday morning in the parking lot of a condominium complex. The officer believed a car was being burgled and shot two people when they allegedly tried to flee in a vehicle. It’s unclear if the two individuals were breaking into the car.
Both Williams and Johnson suffered gunshot wounds and died after arriving at nearby Prince George’s Hospital .
The Pentagon says the officer was a former Army Military Policeman, but authorities did not identify him. The officer has been with the agency since 2019, and had been a federal police officer since 2009, and an Army Military policeman prior to that, Pentagon spokesperson Sue Gough said in a statement Thursday.
Gough had earlier said that the police officer had been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, per standard policy. And that the “PFPA will be conducting an internal administrative investigation.”
Gough noted that PFPA officers are permitted to take their duty weapons home, and cited a PFPA regulation that says that they generally are only permitted to serve in a law enforcement capacity off-duty “when violence is being committed or immediately threatened.”
The Takoma Park Police Department and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office are investigating the incident.
CNN was unable to immediately contact the families of Johnson or Williams.
2021-04-08 21:14:54
