Two men charged in Burtonsville shooting
Deon Erique Sherrod, 29, of no fixed address, was arrested by special assignment officers of the Montgomery County Police after a brief foot chase through the 11300 block of Cherry Hill Drive in Beltsville. The chase ended with officers using a Taser to subdue Sherrod when he apparently reached for a gun in his waistband, according to a police press release.
Sherrod was charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder, reckless endangerment and the use of a handgun in a violent crime, among other charges, for his alleged involvement in the shopping center shooting, police reported.
Two people were injured in the shooting, including a woman shot in the leg and George Emanuel Bleau, who police originally thought was a victim, but who is now being charged as a suspect, according to the press release.
Bleau, 31, of the 14200 block of Castle Boulevard in Silver Spring, was revealed by surveillance footage to have opened fire with his own gun after he and Sherrod engaged in a verbal argument that quickly escalated outside the H&R Block and Chuck E. Cheese stores, the release says.
Bleau was charged with reckless endangerment and first-degree assault, among other charges, after he was treated for his injuries. Detectives are still investigating what caused the argument and whether Bleau and Sherrod knew one another prior to the shooting, police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said.
"I have no written information that says that they were known to one another [before the shooting], but it was the belief of the detectives working the investigation that they had been associated with one another," Baur said.
Sherrod has been arrested several times in Montgomery and Prince George's counties for charges including armed robbery and possession and distribution of marijuana, according to a Maryland case search. Bleau has also been arrested for possession of marijuana, according to the search, but Baur could not confirm that the shooting was drug-related.
"We're not saying that we've ruled it out," she said. "I'm just saying we don't know what caused the verbal argument that led to the shooting at this time."