Resident charged with killing 2 at Maryland senior community

Maryland police have announced first-degree murder charges against a man for shooting two staff members of a senior living community to death at the facility where they worked

Senior Living Facility-Shooting (The Washington Post)

Maryland police announced first-degree murder charges on Saturday against a resident of a senior living community who fatally shot two staff members inside the facility a day earlier.

Roy Batson, 63, remains in custody on a no-bond status, Prince George's County police said in a news release.

Batson, of Capitol Heights, is accused of killing 46-year-old Mackeda Evans, of Temple Hills, and 46-year-old Michelle Boateng, of Capitol Heights, on Friday at the Gateway Village senior living community in Capitol Heights, just outside of Washington Boateng worked and lived at the complex, police said.

The preliminary investigation found that Batson had confronted Evans on Friday morning about a prior dispute between the two in October over a violation notice, police said. He admitted to going to his apartment, retrieving a gun and returning to the first-floor office area and shooting both victims, police said.

Gateway Village is one of 310 communities in 25 states run by National Church Residences, which describes itself as “the nation’s largest provider of affordable senior housing and services.” Its website says the apartment complex about a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) east of Washington includes studio and one-bedroom units for “seniors age 62+.”

A county website describes the property as subsidized government housing for seniors with low incomes.