Prince George’s County police have released surveillance video of an SUV they say is linked to the fatal shooting of a professional boxer and father of three who died on Christmas Eve, hoping the information will help solve the case.
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The video released Tuesday shows what police say is a possible 2007-2009 dark blue GMC Envoy on St. Barnabas Road near Branch Avenue just after the killing of 30-year-old Danny Kelly Jr. The SUV stops briefly at a red light before driving out of camera view, the video shows. Police said someone inside the vehicle was the shooter.
Maj. David Blazer of the major crimes division said investigators need the public’s help in finding the SUV and sharing information that will help “bring closure to the family of Danny Kelly.”
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“There’s three young children … that will never have a father again,” Blazer said during a news conference Tuesday. “We’re asking for the community’s help. If you know something, please contact us.”
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Kelly, his girlfriend and their three children were traveling to a holiday dinner on Christmas Eve when the shooting occurred, police said. Officers responded at about 4:45 p.m. to the 4400 block of St. Barnabas in the Temple Hills area and found Kelly wounded and unresponsive in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, police said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Police said they are investigating the shooting as a possible road rage incident. According to an initial investigation, Kelly and his family were heading north on St. Barnabas when another vehicle pulled up and a person inside shot into Kelly’s pickup truck, police said.
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Police said no one else inside the pickup was injured.
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“This Christmas Eve, many people [were] on the road that day getting last-minute preparations for Christmas … there’s a lot of vehicle traffic,” Blazer said. “We’re hoping that somebody’s going to remember something that will be of interest to the police department.”
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Kelly’s cousin also spoke at the news conference, describing the heavyweight champion and family man as a “gentle giant.”
“Our family, our community, is missing a great father, a great son, brother, leader and a member of the boxing community,” Symone DeLoatch said. “He made our family events very much exciting because of his zeal for life. He loved making people happy and he loved seeing the joy on our face.”
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DeLoatch said Kelly is the “second son my aunt has lost” and urged the community to help police.
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Kelly’s death was one of more than 130 homicides Prince George’s police investigated in 2021, a year the county saw killings rise to a level not seen since 2007.
“The gun violence, especially the senseless crime that is happening in Prince George’s County and Maryland, it definitely needs to be changed,” DeLoatch said. “And it can only be changed through us.”
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Daryl Brown, 60, watched Kelly grow from a teenager into a young man and father of three.
They met when Kelly was about 16 and interested in boxing. Brown was Kelly’s first coach and mentor and saw how hard the young man worked to get into shape.
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Kelly was part of the professional boxing circuit, competing in places like the Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover and the Barclays Center, with a record of 10-3-1, including nine knockouts, according to his stats on BoxRec.com.
During all that time and travel, Brown said he and Kelly grew close, attending each other’s important family gatherings. Kelly often brought the children with him to the gym, and Brown is godfather to the eldest, he said.
“Danny, you can’t bring the kids at work,” Brown recalled telling Kelly. But wherever Kelly went, so did his children. “His kids was everything to him,” Brown said.
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It’s hard for Brown to process what happened.
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“It’s still shocking to me. When I think about it I tend to tear up,” Brown said. “He was like another son to me.”
Prince George’s police are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for any information leading to an arrest in the case. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Baltimore Field Division is offering $5,000, boosting the possible total to $30,000.
People with information in the Kelly case are asked to call the tip line anonymously at 866-411-8477.