Police investigate shots fired near University of Maryland campus

A reported burst of gunfire near Lakeland Road and Rhode Island Avenue sent University of Maryland police and Prince George’s County officers to the edge of campus Friday afternoon, after a witness said a dark-colored sedan fired three shots into the air and drove east on Campus Drive toward Kenilworth Avenue.

University of Maryland police said they responded at about 2:36 p.m. on May 15, 2026, to assist the Prince George’s County Police Department in an off-campus sound-of-gunfire incident. The vehicle’s path mattered immediately: it moved away from the university area along Campus Drive, a route used by students, staff and commuters passing between College Park and the county’s northern corridor. No injuries were reported in the alerts, but the scene sat close enough to campus life to trigger a rapid warning.

The university’s first UMD Alerts message told the community that police were on scene at Lakeland Road and Rhode Island Avenue after a witness reported the shots. A later notice said the incident had been verified by a witness, and the final alert said the Prince George’s County Police Department was continuing to investigate. UMPD said it was assisting county police throughout the response.

The alerts also pointed students and employees to campus safety tools that can matter when an off-campus incident lands close to daily routines. The university highlighted the UMD Guardian app, walking escort service and NITE Ride as part of its response to the gunfire report. In a campus setting where students walk, bike and drive through neighboring streets every day, those services are part of the practical safety net when police are still sorting out what happened.

The episode underscored how quickly a few seconds of gunfire can become a broader public safety issue in College Park. Even though the shots were fired into the air, the location near the university’s border left students and nearby residents dealing with the same questions that come with any fast-moving police call: where the danger started, where it went, and whether the threat has truly passed.