Laurel man shot to death in Seaford

SEAFORD — A 31-year-old Laurel man was shot to death Sunday near a McDonald’s restaurant, Delaware State Police said.

At approximately 8:59 p.m., the Seaford Police Department responded to a reported shooting at 1252 Norman Eskridge Highway, DSP spokeswoman Master Cpl. Heather Pepper said. When officers arrived, they found a male in the parking lot with gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

Identification is pending notification of next of kin.

At the request of Seaford police, the DSP Homicide Unit was contacted to assume the investigation. Detectives learned that the victim was in the McDonald’s drive-thru on South Dual Highway, when he encountered a group also in the drive-thru. After leaving the restaurant parking lot, the two parties continued the encounter in an adjacent lot, at which time the victim was shot and the group fled the scene, Cpl. Pepper said.

No suspect information was available Tuesday morning.

Anyone who witnessed this incident or has information can contact Detective Mark Ryde at 302-741-2730 or mark.ryde@delaware.gov. Information may also be sent via a Facebook message to DSP or by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 800-TIP-3333 or here.