Prince George's launches security camera program in honor of slain 13-year-old Jayz Agnew

The unsolved murder of a 13-year-old Maryland boy is prompting changes in Prince George's County, as the county launches a program in his honor to provide free home surveillance cameras to residents.

It’s been almost a year since Juanita Agnew went door to door handing out flyers following her son's killing last November. 

Jayz Agnew, an 8th grader, was fatally shot on Nov. 8 in the 2100 block of Jameson Street at about 5:20 p.m., Prince George's County police said. He was raking leaves and his father had been doing yard work with him just minutes before it happened. 

“For me, home doesn't feel like home without him,” his mother said. “Losing Jayz has definitely left a void in our home. Being at home is not the same. Being in the front yard is not the same.”

Juanita Agnew still searches for answers. With no surveillance cameras in the area, police have had a hard time tracking down the person who pulled the trigger.

“This camera,” Agnew said, referring to a new piece of equipment outside of her home, “would have been able to pick up the intersection [where the shooting happened].” 

She said it was weeks after Jayz’s death before she was able to return to their house, but now, that security camera “gives me a sense of security because it’s real time.”

And thanks to a new initiative in honor of Jayz, more cameras are coming to the area. 

“[It’s] an exciting program, which will bring security cameras to residents in our community for free,” Prince George’s County Councilmember Edward Burroughs III said. 

Burroughs is partnering with the nonprofit Joan's House to provide nearly 1,000 free home surveillance cameras to district 8 residents.

Officials said they will play an important role in helping police solve crimes faster.

“That’s what this is about. How do we make sure our communities are as safe as possible?” Burroughs said. 

In order to qualify for a free camera, you must be a county district 8 resident, live in a single family home (without security cameras), have wifi and a smartphone that can access Google Play or the Apple App Store.

There is a similar program underway for district 7. And last March, the council approved the Jayz Agnew Law, a countywide camera incentive program.

“It’s an honor,” Juanita Agnew said. “Having a surveillance camera will not bring Jayz back, we know that. But what it can do is the difference between knowing who did it and who didn't.”   

With the one year mark of her son’s killing just weeks away, Agnew said she isn't giving up hope in her search for justice, and her message is still the same.

“Think about if this was your child,” she said. “Jayz was shot in the afternoon, and someone knows something.”

Agnew will be hosting a gun violence awareness walk on Nov. 11, when she will retrace Jayz’s steps from his school. 

There is a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.