Aaron Lanier Wilson Jr., 42, of Oxon Hill, Md., has been charged with first- and second-degree murder in the slaying of two men who previously had never met their alleged killer, according to Prince George’s County police.

Wilson had called for a ride on the app Tuesday evening, heading to his home on Indian Head Highway, said Felipe Ordono, captain of the police department’s criminal investigations division. Cameroonian Driver Beaudouin Tchakounte, 46, picked Wilson up in the Oxon Hill area with passenger Casey Xavier Robinson, 32, already in the silver Mercedes-Benz, Ordono said according to TWP.  

“During the ride, something went wrong,” Ordono said. Within moments of being picked up, Wilson opened fire, killing Tchakounte and Robinson about 9:45 p.m. before fleeing, police said. 

The shooting left the families of the dead devastated. Carole Tchatchoua, the mother of Tchakounte’s four children, said the children went to the driveway to look for his car when they woke up Wednesday morning, but he wasn’t there. She said she didn’t have the heart to tell them just then that he was dead. 

Witnesses who saw the gunfire called police to Indian Head Highway and Bald Eagle Road, where officers found both men shot in the car in the roadway. 

“These people weren’t doing anything but minding their own business,” said Jennifer Donelan, a spokeswoman for the Prince George’s County Police Department. 

Eventually Tchatchoua gathered the couple’s four children, ages 3 to 15, and said a prayer. Then she told them their father had gone to heaven. 

“Our 7-year-old son started looking at me really angry,” Tchatchoua said. “He said, ‘God, can I please see my dad one more time?’ ” 

Casey Robinson’s sister, who asked that her name not be used because of concerns about security, said she was at a loss for words. She said her brother was not married and did not have children. He worked as trash collector and was a hard worker, she said. 

“He was a loving, caring brother; I’m going to miss him,” she said. “He was my only brother.” 

Through witness interviews and cooperation from Uber, the investigation led detectives to Wilson, who was arrested at his home not far from the shooting scene within nine hours of the incident, police said. 

“He has confessed to being inside of the Uber and he tells detectives that he was high on PCP,” Ordono said. 

Online court records did not list an attorney for Wilson. 

Detectives are still working to determine what exactly happened in the car leading up to the shooting. 

“I know that this is extremely scary for our community to hear that something like this has occurred, but the best news we can give you at such a horrible time is that these detectives did their job,” Donelan said, “with the help of Uber, with the help of eyewitnesses, with information that they were able to garner through their investigation and they got this person off the street.” 

Uber in a statement thanked Prince George’s County police for their work. 

“We are devastated by this news and our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of Beaudouin Tchakounte and Casey Robinson,” an Uber representative said. “We will continue to work with law enforcement on their investigation into this heinous crime.” 

Tchatchoua described Tchakounte as calm, patient and quiet. Family members said he had been an Uber driver for three years and had immigrated to the United States from Cameroon about 15 years ago and became a citizen. 

“He was a loving dad,” Tchatchoua said. “He loved his kids so much. I don’t know how they are going to cope with that.” 

Valere Tchakounte, the uncle of Beaudouin, was distraught after hearing how police described the way his nephew was killed. 

“How can that happen? Why him?” Tchakounte’s uncle said. 

Donelan said the shooting was an isolated incident. 

“We have not seen anything like this before,” Donelan said. “We pray that we never see anything like this ever again.”