Perhaps Prince George’s County residents should consider moving to Afghanistan.
According to a Washington Examiner report published Thursday, the Maryland county has had 13 killings so far in 2011, exceeding the number of U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan this year. Since New Year’s Day, the county has reported 12 homicides and one killing of a 30-year old who had attempted to break into a New Carollton residence.
Prince George’s County authorities weren’t fully prepared for such an influx of killings, so federal agents will begin assisting homicide investigators.
“It is very unusual for us to bring in agents and embed them in our homicide division,” said police spokesman Maj. Andy Ellis. “I can’t remember us doing that since probably the mid- to late ’90s.”
In addition to getting federal agent assistance, county police have enlisted law enforcement agencies from other areas for help.
The first homicide victim of the year was a man stabbed to death and the latest homicide was a woman found dead along a roadside. Authorities say the majority of deaths do not appear to be random and instead are the result of drug or gang involvement or personal disputes.