Prince George's County Police are looking for two men involved in a cutting Friday morning near the corner of Route 1 and Knox Road, though there is some debate over exactly where the fight took place.
About 3 a.m. Friday, a fight broke out at near the downtown bars, according to police. During the scuffle, an unidentified man wielding a four- to five-inch dark-bladed knife slashed two victims, police said. The first victim, a junior at this university, was cut on the forearm. The second victim, who attends Montgomery College, fractured his hand and was cut on the thigh. Both victims' injuries were not life-threatening.
Police believe the incident started at a downtown bar when the two men approached a group of female patrons and a different group of men stepped in to intervene. An argument ensued and eventually spilled out onto the sidewalk along Route 1, where the fight broke out.
Based on witness and victim accounts, police have compiled descriptions of the two men. The first is a black man, 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds, with short hair, a goatee and sideburns who was wearing dark jeans with a blue button-up shirt and armed with the knife. The second suspect is a black man, 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds, who was wearing a dark blazer with pinstriped pants and Air Jordan sneakers. Both were thought to be between 21 and 26 years old.
Commander Maj. Dan Dusseau of District 1, which encompasses downtown College Park, said the second suspect is a "person of interest" and is wanted for questioning while the first suspect could be charged with two counts of first-degree assault.
Both men fled after the incident, and Dusseau said he wasn't sure if they are students.
"It's not uncommon for something to happen in a bar, and when the bar's closed, for it to pick up again," Dusseau said. "We've had some very serious incidents [like these] over the years."
Dusseau said alcohol could have been a factor in the incident and also said it was too early to tell if the bar did anything wrong.
He added he has already met with city officials to talk about the downtown bars' prices and security.
According to the crime alert that was e-mailed to students Friday, the incident happened "outside Thirsty Turtle." But Thirsty Turtle owner Alan Wanuck said the incident had nothing to do with his bar and that neither the suspects nor the victims attended his bar that evening.
"Our name was mentioned in something that had nothing to do with us," Wanuck said. "The crowd that they're talking about did not come from us."
Security camera footage of the incident from Thirsty Turtle shows the bar closing about 2 a.m. and the last few patrons exiting by 2:10 a.m. The fight can be seen occurring down the street. An off-duty police officer outside Thirsty Turtle can be seen running toward the fight farther down the road. Other personnel from Thirsty Turtle then ran over to intervene.
"We got tarnished here," Wanuck said, adding he has turned over the video footage to police.
The other bar in the immediate area, The Mark, was also not involved, according to owner Mark Srour. He denied there was an incident at The Mark and pointed to the police report as proof.
"We don't have fights like that," Srour said. "[Thirsty Turtle lets] every Joe Schmo in there."
Police are asking anyone with information regarding the incident or the identity of the suspects to come forward.
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