Toykia Lynn Dow, a 37-year-old Black woman, had recently relocated to the Washington-Baltimore area from Albany, New York, with hopes of starting a new chapter for her family. On the evening of Friday, October 12, 2007, she spent time sightseeing with her teenage son and a cousin. Their pleasant outing took a tragic turn after they disembarked from a metro train in Landover, Maryland. While walking on Kent Village Place at approximately 10:30 p.m., they were confronted by several individuals.
The encounter quickly escalated when the assailants questioned their presence on the street. In an effort to shield her 17-year-old son, DiShawn Infinger, from the escalating aggression, Dow stepped forward. One of the suspects began to pistol-whip the teenager, and as his mother intervened to protect him, she was shot once in the chest. Emergency services responded to reports of gunfire and found Dow with a severe wound to her upper body. She was rushed to a local hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries shortly after arrival.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the Prince George's County Police Department launched an investigation into what appeared to be a random and senseless act of violence. At the time, authorities reported that they had no suspects in custody and no significant updates on the case. A $25,000 reward was offered for any information that would lead to the arrest and indictment of those responsible for Toykia Dow's murder. Despite the passage of time, there have been no subsequent public announcements regarding any arrests, the identification of suspects, or any resolution to the case, leaving the death of the mother of two unsolved.
