In the late hours of a Thursday evening in Prince George's County, a dispute between neighbors escalated into a fatal encounter. Inside a Forestville apartment on March 2, 2017, 26-year-old Thaddeus Tate was shot and killed. The sound of gunfire shattered the quiet of the 7200 block of Donnell Place, prompting a police response around 11:30 p.m. When officers arrived, they found Tate suffering from a gunshot wound.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation quickly focused on a suspect who was familiar to the victim. Authorities identified 42-year-old Delante Sellers-Mason, Tate's neighbor, as the alleged shooter. It is believed that an argument between the two men preceded the deadly shooting. After the incident, Sellers-Mason fled the apartment, but his freedom was short-lived. Police located and apprehended him a short distance from the crime scene.
Following his arrest, Delante Sellers-Mason was taken into the custody of the Department of Corrections. He was subsequently charged with first and second-degree murder in connection with the death of Thaddeus Tate. The killing was not a random act of violence but rather the tragic culmination of a dispute between two men who lived in close proximity to one another.
