In a quiet Landover, Maryland home, the life of 11-year-old Mailyn Turks was tragically cut short on the evening of February 28, 2024. The young girl was found deceased inside the residence located in the 6900 block of Stansbury Lane, the victim of a fatal shooting. Authorities from the Prince George's County Police Department responded to a report of a shooting at approximately 9:30 p.m.
and discovered a scene of domestic violence that had escalated to a devastating conclusion.
Mailyn, a female, was not the only victim in this horrific event. Her mother was also found inside the home, suffering from gunshot wounds. She was transported to a local hospital in critical but stable condition and was expected to survive her injuries. The perpetrator was identified by police as Mailyn's 38-year-old stepfather, Curtis Lynch. The preliminary investigation concluded that Lynch shot both his stepdaughter and her mother before turning the gun on himself in a murder-suicide.
The motive for the shooting remains under investigation, but the incident has highlighted a troubling pattern of domestic-related violence in the county. It was revealed that this was not the first time law enforcement had been called to the residence, with the Prince George's County Sheriff's Office having responded to a call at the home a few weeks prior to the fatal incident. Furthermore, Curtis Lynch had been arrested in Washington, D.C., on February 13, 2024, for allegedly pulling a gun on a group of people. After being initially held without bond, he was released from custody on February 16, just days before he would go on to take his stepdaughter's life and his own. The community was left to mourn the loss of a young girl whose life was taken in an act of violence that officials have described as part of a 'growing epidemic of domestic violence.'
