MANASSAS, Va. — Two families are in mourning, after a two women were shot and killed inside an apartment in Manassas.
Edward James Jackson Bland, 36, now faces murder and carjacking charges.
It happened sometime between late Monday night and Tuesday just after midnight. According to a Prince William County Police, they received two separate 911 calls early Tuesday morning.
One was from a man who said he'd been carjacked in the parking lot of the Westgate Apartments and Townhomes, located on Porters Ridge Lane.
At the same time, they received a call from someone who said they'd seen a man run out of the complex with a gun.
Officers responded to the area and spoke to the initial victim, who told them he had just parked his car when he was approached by the suspect who pulled out a gun and took his vehicle.
Police didn't find the vehicle, but a few hours later, they got a call from the Shenandoah County Sheriff's Office.
Police say a man, later identified as the suspect, was being held in their area after the man's car had reportedly stopped working in the area of Stoney Creek Rd and I-81 in Edinburg.
Police say the man walked to a nearby convenience store where authorities were notified, and the car he was driving was confirmed as stolen from Prince William County.
Jackson Bland was taken into custody.
While police wouldn't share details about the conversation they had with him, they say after speaking with him they sent officers back to the apartment complex to do a welfare check at one of the apartments.
Inside, police say they found the bodies of Leann Renee Harris, 34, and Asia Payne, 22.
"He was just crying. I was like 'what's going on?' He was like 'Lele's gone, someone killed her.' I was like what? I was just like so, so weak," said James Caison in an interview with WUSA9 Thursday afternoon.
Caison, Harris' father, told WUSA9 his daughter went by Lele and was a mother of three.
"She meant a lot. Everyone loved her," said Caison.
He says what made things even worse, was when he found out that Jackson Bland was accused of taking his daughter's life.
"They were cousins. But, they considered themselves the best of friends. That was her best friend," said Caison.
Payne's loved ones described her as an artist who was kind and a social butterfly.
They launched this GoFundMe Page to help with funeral expenses.
Harris' family says they plan to hold a vigil for her at Stonewall Park this weekend.
"I want everyone to remember her as the person she was always smiling and always enjoying her life," said Caison.
Jackson Bland is facing several charges in connection to the two young women's death. He is due back in court on April 8.