In the early hours of a Monday morning, the quiet of a District Heights, Maryland neighborhood was shattered by the sound of gunfire. On June 13, 2022, a 20-year-old male named Daniel James Harris was discovered outside on Forest Park Drive, suffering from a gunshot wound. The incident, which occurred at approximately 1:30 a.m., also left two other adult males injured.
Harris was rushed to a nearby hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries a short time later.
The Prince George's County Police Department's Homicide Unit immediately began an investigation into the triple shooting. For weeks, the case remained open, with detectives working to identify a suspect and a motive for the seemingly random act of violence. A reward of up to $25,000 was offered for information that could lead to an arrest and indictment in the case, a plea to the public for any information that could help bring justice for Harris and the other victims. The initial investigation did not suggest that the victims and the shooter knew each other.
A breakthrough in the case came on July 7, 2022, in the nearby town of Upper Marlboro. Patrol officers, responding to an unrelated 911 call, arrested 21-year-old Ja'Quan Green of Middle River, Maryland. During the arrest, officers found a handgun in Green's waistband. Subsequent ballistic testing of the recovered firearm linked it directly to the murder of Daniel James Harris. This crucial piece of evidence provided a direct line from Green to the tragic events of that June morning.
Following the ballistic match, Ja'Quan Green was charged with first and second-degree murder, as well as other related charges in connection with the death of Daniel James Harris. He was taken into the custody of the Department of Corrections and held on a no-bond status. The motive for the shooting remained under investigation, leaving a community to grapple with the senseless loss of a young life.
