Prince George's County man charged in Baltimore-Washington Parkway road rage shooting

A morning drive on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway turned into a gunshot case when a Prince George’s County man was charged after a road-rage shooting wounded another driver and forced investigators to shut down lanes during the commute. Maryland State Police said the confrontation was reported shortly before 7:30 a.m. on the northbound side of the parkway in Anne Arundel County, just before the Arundel Mills Boulevard exit.

The suspect, identified as 21-year-old Darius Bryant, was charged with attempted murder and related offenses. State police said the case was handled by the Highway Gun Crimes Initiative, a unit used for shootings on major roadways where a traffic dispute can quickly become a violent-crime investigation.

The victim was driving a white Dodge van when gunfire struck the driver’s side while the vehicle was traveling north on MD-295. A passenger in the van was not injured. Maryland State Police said the driver was taken to a nearby trauma center for treatment.

Bryant was arrested in Washington, D.C., less than two hours after the shooting. Police said U.S. Park Police detained him on DC-295 and took him into custody on a felony fugitive warrant. He was being processed as a fugitive in Washington and awaiting extradition to Maryland.

The shooting briefly turned one of the region’s most heavily traveled commuter routes into a crime scene, disrupting traffic on a corridor used daily by drivers moving between Prince George’s County, Anne Arundel County and the District. For people who rely on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to get to work, school or appointments, the case is a stark reminder that a moment of road rage can spill onto a highway in seconds and leave a wounded victim, a blocked roadway and a felony prosecution in its wake.