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Think It Was a Quiet Weekend? Think Again

From a microburst that tore off roofs in Prince George's County to a bar fight in Montgomery, it was anything but peaceful in crime and public safety news over the weekend.

Maybe it was the aftermath of the summer solstice, or the collision between human nature and mother nature, but it was a weekend full of police and fire activity in Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

Patch will be following up on these stories today:

A sudden storm that officials called a "microburst"—a violent downward draft of air—swept through a Bladensburg neighborhood, snapping trees, blowing roofs off buildings and leaving residents in the dark and seeking shelter.

Police said nearly 100 people were involved in an altercation that broke out at the in Gaithersburg early Sunday. Police said it was a Rapper Karaoke Night gone bad. No life-threatening injuries were reported.

Prince George's County police were investigating a car accident in College Park that left one man dead and two others injured early Sunday.

An accident between a van and a motorcycle on Rockville Pike in Germantown on Sunday afternoon trapped five people, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service Assistant Chief Scott Graham.

Prince George’s County firefighters quickly extinguished a fire Sunday afternoon in a single-family house in the 700 block of Sheridan Street in Chillum, Prince George’s County Fire Department Chief Spokesperson Mark Brady reported.

Prince George’s County firefighters fought to extinguish a mulch fire in Upper Marlboro Sunday. “Mulch piles are difficult and time consuming to extinguish,” Prince George’s County Fire Department Chief Spokesperson Mark Brady wrote on the county fire department’s blog.

Native June 25, 2012 at 12:41 pm
Patch, and many other news outlets do not state the race of criminal suspects in most cases, even when the race of the suspect is known. Because the fact omitted, and it's obvious from these comments that it's important nonetheless. If it's a rap music event with violence, most people will assume that it's thuggish black people running amok. If it was a country music event with violence, people would assume that it was white rednecks on the rampage. Race and criminality are complex because we all want to believe that our tribe is not as stupid and violent as "the other".
Richard Rice June 25, 2012 at 02:20 pm
I don't ever go to bars but an excellent point well stated and taken.
Sonia Dasgupta (Editor) June 25, 2012 at 03:16 pm
Actually for the bar fight in Gaithersburg, police did not supply anything about the suspects as they were having trouble getting people to talk.
In general, however, race and height isn't enough of a description to find a suspect, which is why we don't include it. However, if the police know details— for example, it's a white man, in his 30s, blond hair, brown eyes, 5' 11'', with a mustache and a tattoo on his left arm of the sun, we'll include the whole description because it's something people may actually be able to identify. Hope that helps you understand why we choose to include descriptions sometimes and other time, we don't. Thanks for your comment!
123BOOM June 26, 2012 at 02:56 pm
To omit any information (race, gender, creed, etc) is a crime in itself both by the newspaper and the police. Ask the public what they want!! Let the facts of each case speak for itself.
Anonymous June 26, 2012 at 03:34 pm
I am simply amazed that the Montgomery Village Patch is ignoring a huge story that happened on Friday, June 22nd--a woman charged with 4 counts of child abuse, among 9 criminal charges, and her mother also arrested on Maple Leaf Drive. We can report on jay-walking, but not this.
Tiffany Arnold (Editor) June 26, 2012 at 07:12 pm
Comment deleted by administrator for violating terms of use. If you have story tips, please send them to the appropriate editor.
Anonymous June 26, 2012 at 07:41 pm
Sent to the editors and they are ignoring the story....don't use google, use MD case search...
Anonymous June 26, 2012 at 07:50 pm
Ms. Arnold, I sent you the tip--this is public record, but no one is reporting it.
Tiffany Arnold (Editor) June 26, 2012 at 07:58 pm
@Anonymous — Please abide by this website's terms of use when posting comments. You can email story tips directly to the Montgomery Village Patch editor, or alternatively to Germantown@Patch.com or Gaithersburg@patch.com.

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