R.I.P. Miles

R.I.P. Miles

Police Kill Suspect and Wound Another in Robbery Attempt

By Joshua Partlow
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 7, 2006; Page B06

An exchange of gunfire yesterday morning between Prince George's County police and a young man suspected of attempting to rob a house near the University of Maryland left the man dead and another hospitalized with a bullet wound in the buttocks, police said.

Matthew Sciannella, 21, said he was playing video games with his brother when he heard people opening the sliding glass door on the first floor of the house he shares with four other University of Maryland students and a student from Anne Arundel Community College.

When Sciannella and his brother went downstairs, they saw a masked gunman run out of the house, on 48th Avenue in Berwyn. Sciannella said he fled and was briefly followed by one of the three. "Do you want to die, [expletive]?" Sciannella recalled the man shouting.

Sciannella called authorities on his cellphone about 1:30 a.m. to report the robbery attempt. Three county police officers responded in less than 90 seconds. As they took up positions around the house, one of the masked men ran out the back door, police said.

When the man was within about five yards of police, he pulled out a handgun and fired several times, said Maj. Kevin Davis, a district commander. None of the officers was hit, and all returned fire, he said. The man stumbled a few feet and died, police said.

"It was an absolute miracle that at least one of our officers wasn't killed," Davis said.

Police shot a second man, who ran out of the house and went into woods nearby, in the buttocks. He underwent surgery at a hospital, police said. Authorities said there is a possibility that a third person was involved in the attempted robbery.

Police said they found a handgun on the ground near the man who was killed. The wounded man might have been armed, too, police said. Police did not say whether the wounded man shot at police or at what point in the case he was shot. Sciannella said he heard at least 13 shots. There were bullet holes in the drainpipe alongside the house and in a drink bar in the back yard.

Police did not immediately identify either man but said they were about 18.

A law enforcement source said marijuana was found in the house, and police are investigating the possibility that the robbery was connected to drugs. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Sciannella said he thought that the suspects weren't coming for the drugs. He said that a safe held rent money and that one of his brother's friends recently purchased a shotgun that the robbers demanded. "They said, 'Where's the hammer? Where's the hammer?' And by that they meant a gun," he said. "I would assume they knew at least one of the people here."

One of the men pistol-whipped one of the residents inside the house, police said. The resident was treated at a hospital and released. Sciannella confirmed a pistol-whipping and said two other roommates were kicked.

The officers involved in the shooting -- identified as having eight, five and three years of service -- will be placed on routine administrative leave pending an investigation.

Davis said he thinks the shooting was a justified use of force.

"It was a pretty scary ordeal," Sciannella said.

Staff writer Debbi Wilgoren contributed to this report.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company