6-year-old dies after shooting at Fourth of July gathering in Temple Hills, police say

A 6-year-old boy died after a shooting at a Fourth of July gathering in Temple Hills, Maryland, that also left two adults injured, police said.

Ahsan Payton, who lived in Washington, D.C., passed away Saturday night, two days after an annual neighborhood celebration ended in violence, Prince George’s County police said.

Prince George’s County police officers responded to the 4500 block of Akron Street about 7:50 p.m. on July 4 and found three people injured.

Payton was rushed to the hospital with a gunshot wound. A man suffered non-threatening injuries, and a woman was treated on the scene for a graze wound, police said.

A child shot in Temple Hills on July 4, 2024, has died of his injuries. The victim is six-year-old Ahsan Payton of Washington, DC. A reward of up to $25,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest and indictment in this case. https://t.co/E4mENP5ghx pic.twitter.com/ARLCMJ0ksy

— PGPDNEWS (@PGPDNews) July 7, 2024

“We have one child that was shot in the head and two adults that were shot,” someone said on audio recorded from 911 dispatch.

Police say they are trying to identify a suspect or suspects and why they opened fire. A $25,000 reward is available for information in the case.

Aisha Braveboy, the state attorney for Prince George’s County, said whoever is arrested faces serious consequences.

“We will be charging them once they are identified with the maximum charges and seeking the maximum penalties,” Braveboy said.

Neighbors said that the community celebration has been happening safely for the last five years or so with food, music and a bouncy house for kids. Some told News4 that they never imagined it would turn violent.

“What can you say about it? It's not right and it should not be tolerated,” a longtime neighbor said.

Another neighbor said they thought the sound of gunshots was fireworks at first.

"It's sad," he said. "It's a sad situation."

Video shows leftover fireworks and trash on the ground after the shooting.

One of the bullets went through the window of a home and then lodged in the wall. Fortunately, the couple who live there were not harmed.

Now, a community grieves over the loss of a young life.

“We're very, very sad, very upset and hopefully they will stop having this kind of party because you can't control it. You just can’t control it,” a neighbor said.