Man Shot in Bethesda Neighborhood

STORY UPDATE:
Police in Montgomery County are trying to figure out who shot a 53-year-old man in his car just after he pulled into his Bethesda garage on Thursday night.

It happened in a normally quiet neighborhood in the 6800 block Millwood Road. Police say a man wearing a mask was inside the Ashoka Mody's garage when he pulled in, and he had a gun. They say he fired at least one shot through the open driver's side door of the minivan, critically wounding Mody.

Mody was taken to Suburban Hospital in critical condition. Police say it was Mody's wife who called 911. She was inside the home at the time of the shooting....

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THE ORIGINAL STORY ON THIS SHOOTING IS POSTED BELOW:

Montgomery County Police say a 53-year-old man was shot in a residential area of Bethesda as he returned home on Thursday night, and the suspect remains on the loose.

Police spokesperson Lucille Baur says it happened along Millwood Road between Tanglewood Road and Lenox Road at around 7:30 p.m. She says the man who was shot had just come home when the masked suspect came at him out of the darkness and shot him. His garage door was still open, and his car was parked inside.

The victim, who has not been identified yet, was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Witnesses reported hearing a single gunshot.

The suspect fled on foot towards Goldsboro Road, and police brought in helicopters, extra patrols and even bloodhounds to try and find him. As of late Thursday night, he remained on the loose.

"We have closed off the area, limiting the access in and out of this community as we search it," said Baur.

Police said they were looking for a man wearing dark clothing. They were searching the area using a helicopter and bloodhounds.

Neighbors in the area are stunned.

"I hope they find the person who did this," said Julia Sullivan, who lives near the victim. "I know the whole community will be behind their family 100 percent. No one here wants to see this kind of behavior."

This type of crime is extremely unusual for the area. In fact, neighbors say they can't remember the last time there was a shooting.

"It's a terrible thing to have happen," said Michael Sullivan, another neighbor. "It's safe and quiet. We just don't have things like this happen here. Goes to show it can happen anywhere."

At this point, police say there is no evidence of a robbery, but that remains one of the possibilities.

The suspect is described as a masked man of unknown race with a medium build wearing dark clothing. Police say he was armed with a handgun.

Neighbors say the 53-year-old man lives at the home with his wife. His two sons are away at college.

Because of the shooting, Walt Whitman High School was under lockdown for a time. A junior varsity football game was being played, and the players and fans were removed from the field. The lockdown was later lifted.