One dead in shooting near MGM National Harbor, suspect in custody

A late-night shooting near MGM National Harbor shut down roads around one of Prince George’s County’s busiest entertainment corridors and left 33-year-old Christopher Austin Jr. dead as detectives investigated a suspected road-rage dispute.

Prince George’s County police responded around 11:10 to 11:15 p.m. June 25 to MGM National Avenue and Monument Avenue in Oxon Hill after a call first came in as a personal-injury crash. Fire and EMS crews found an adult man inside a vehicle with a gunshot wound and pronounced him dead at the scene. Police identified the victim as Austin of Alexandria, Virginia, and the suspected shooter as 36-year-old Tyrell Hairston of Accokeek. Hairston was in custody.

The confrontation began in the parking garage exit line at MGM National Harbor, and Hairston got out of his vehicle and shot Austin, who was riding in a slingshot autocycle. Austin drove away before crashing nearby. Hairston called 911 and turned himself in shortly afterward. Police had no indication at that time that the two men knew each other, and detectives were still working to confirm exactly what led to the gunfire.

The shooting happened outside the casino floor, near the garage exit and adjacent roadway, not inside the gaming complex itself. Roads around the scene were closed while detectives processed evidence and washed down the roadway; lanes reopened around 4:15 a.m. The closure briefly cut through a corridor that serves workers, hotel guests and visitors moving in and out of National Harbor’s restaurants, parking garages and waterfront attractions.

The case came days after the arrest of Dayon Neal in a separate 2024 homicide at the MGM National Harbor parking garage, where the victim was Daniel Thomas. Anyone with information has been asked to contact homicide detectives or Prince George’s County Crime Solvers under case number 26-0033867.