Homeland Security says the Salvadoran national now facing murder charges entered the United States illegally in March 2024 and was released.
LANGLEY PARK, Md. — Federal immigration officials say the 20-year-old man charged with killing a 13-year-old girl in Langley Park entered the United States illegally from El Salvador in 2024, adding an immigration-policy dimension to a homicide investigation that also left another teenager critically injured.
Marcos Isai Melendez-Umanzor of Hyattsville is charged with first- and second-degree murder in the death of Any Davalos, 13, of Silver Spring, along with first- and second-degree attempted murder in the shooting of a second teenage girl. Prince George’s County police said Melendez-Umanzor knew both girls and that the Nov. 3 shooting stemmed from an argument. The criminal allegations remain pending and do not establish guilt.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Border Patrol encountered Melendez-Umanzor in March 2024 after he entered the country illegally and that he was subsequently released into the United States during the Biden administration. The department’s account addresses his immigration history but does not establish a connection between his immigration status and the circumstances or motive behind the shooting. Local police have described the case as involving people who knew one another.
The federal disclosure came after Prince George’s County police announced the murder and attempted murder charges. Officers responded to the 8100 block of 15th Avenue at about 1:50 a.m. Nov. 3 and found the two girls suffering from gunshot wounds. Davalos died at the scene. The second girl was taken to a hospital, where authorities said she remained in critical condition.
Police said their preliminary investigation determined that Melendez-Umanzor and the two victims were known to one another and that an argument preceded the shooting. Investigators have not publicly said what the argument concerned or described the precise nature of the relationships. They also have not announced a detailed motive beyond that initial finding.
Investigators identified Melendez-Umanzor as the suspect and arrested him late Nov. 3. The Prince George’s County Police Department Fugitive Unit, which is part of the U.S. Marshals Service Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, participated in locating him. Police said he was placed in the custody of the county Department of Corrections.
Davalos had been the subject of a missing-person search before her death. Montgomery County police had sought the public’s help finding her after she was last seen Oct. 18 in the Wheaton area. Authorities have not publicly explained the circumstances of her disappearance, where she stayed after she was last seen or how she came to be in Langley Park more than two weeks later.
The Homeland Security statement places Melendez-Umanzor’s first reported encounter with U.S. immigration authorities roughly two years and eight months before the shooting. The available public accounts do not specify in detail what immigration proceedings followed his 2024 release, whether he had later contact with federal immigration authorities or what his immigration case status was immediately before his arrest on the Maryland criminal charges.
The distinction between the two government investigations remains significant. Prince George’s County police are handling the homicide case and have focused publicly on the shooting, the relationship among those involved and the argument they say preceded it. Federal officials provided information about Melendez-Umanzor’s entry into the United States and his release after being encountered by Border Patrol. Neither account, by itself, resolves the unanswered questions about what happened before the gunfire.
Melendez-Umanzor remained in county corrections custody as authorities continued investigating. The second teenager’s identity has not been released, and she remained critically injured in the latest public update. Police had announced no additional arrests and had not released further details about the dispute that preceded the shooting.
Author note: Last updated November 5, 2026.