On Saturday, September 11, 2021, at approximately 3:30 p.m., officers responded to the parking lot of the Burchmart located at 10195 Berry Road in Waldorf, for the report of two armed suspects with firearms, threatening to shoot each other.
When officers arrived on the scene, they found a group of people outside the business yelling and screaming, officers gave verbal commands for every subject to get on the ground, which all subjects complied. Officers were able to quickly de-escalate the situation and began gaining statements from all the involved individuals along with multiple witnesses.
A preliminary investigation revealed a suspect went to the business to confront an employee about a work-place issue involving his family member. It was determined that suspect, later identified as Gregory Eugene Lawrence, Jr., 46, arrived at the business along with numerous family members in order to confront the victim.
The victim is an employee of a nearby business and advised when Lawrence and the family members approached him in an aggressive manner, the suspects were yelling at him and approached him behind the store counter. The victim left the store through a rear exit while being following by the suspects, the victim obtained a weapon from his vehicle, later determined to be a fake handgun (BB gun), and upon Lawrence seeing this, he pulled his own firearm from his waistband and threatened the victim by saying he was “going to shoot him” while pointing the firearm at the victim.
The officers arrived on the scene moments later and were able to recover the firearm that had been placed in the suspect’s vehicle as officers pulled into the parking lot.
The firearm was identified as a Sig Saur P320 and was fully loaded with one in the chamber. Lawrence does not possess a permit to carry a firearm on his person.
Gregory Eugene Lawrence, Jr., 46, of Brandywine, was arrested and charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and carrying a loaded handgun among other charges. Officer Baxley is continuing the investigation.
One witness stated they were in fear for their life as they believed they were going to be caught in the crossfire of a shootout, due to the incident happening in, and outside of the Burchmart.
