Gunshots rang out around 10 p.m. Friday outside an assisted living facility in the 7500 block of Old Telegraph Road in Hanover, prompting an investigation and a warning for residents to steer clear of the area while investigators worked the scene. Police said no residents of the facility were injured, but authorities had not released information about possible victims or the circumstances that led to the shooting.
Anne Arundel County Police were still investigating as of Friday night, according to WBFF, which reported that officers advised the public to avoid the area while the investigation continued. The station's report did not specify whether anyone was struck by gunfire or taken to a hospital, leaving key questions about the incident still unanswered.
A Block With a History of Late-Night Trouble
The area includes Morningside House of Friendship, a licensed 103-bed assisted living and memory care community. Just down the block sits The Original Cancun Cantina, a nightclub and dance venue at 7501 Old Telegraph Road that has been the site of previous firearm incidents.
In August 2019, an Eastport man was arrested and charged with attempted murder after firing shots during an altercation outside Cancun Cantina, striking three parked vehicles, as reported by Eye on Annapolis. No one was struck by bullets in that incident. Then in February 2021, county police arrested a Pasadena man in the same block after he allegedly displayed an unloaded handgun during a fight outside the nightclub; security guards disarmed him before officers arrived, per Anne Arundel County Government's press release from that time.
Western District Detectives Lead the Investigation
The Hanover corridor falls under the county police department's Western District. Anyone with information regarding Western District criminal investigations is asked to contact detectives at 410-222-6155, or submit anonymous tips via the county line at 410-222-4700.
Friday's shooting follows a June 2025 shooting in the Hanover area reported by Hoodline. In a Hoodline report, a 21-year-old woman was hospitalized with upper-body injuries in June 2025 after being caught in the crossfire of a two-vehicle shootout near Arundel Mills Boulevard and Arundel Way. The available account does not include details about another September 2025 shooting on Fredericksburg Road.
Countywide Numbers Tell a Different Story
The Hanover shootings stand out against a broader trend of declining gun violence across Anne Arundel County. Police reported a 26% reduction in non-contact shootings and a 19% reduction in contact shootings countywide during 2025 compared to 2024, according to county officials, who attributed the drop in part to real-time technology and data-driven patrol deployment.
Countywide violent crime also fell across multiple major categories in 2025, including a 47% drop in citizen robberies and a 27% drop in carjackings, even as homicides ticked up slightly from 10 to 11, per Eye on Annapolis. Anne Arundel County had recorded 10 homicides in 2024. It remains unclear whether Friday's shooting on Old Telegraph Road originated inside a vehicle or in a commercial parking lot, and detectives have not said whether they have identified any suspects or recovered surveillance footage from neighboring businesses.
