Two others were seriously injured in the 1:30 a.m. shooting that took place in a dark dead-end off the North Odenton Plaza parking lot, across from Fort George G. Meade, county police said. Police have no motive or suspects, said Sgt. John Gilmer, a county police spokesman. And detectives could not confirm the relationship between the four men, citing an ongoing investigation.

The victims, Terence James Covington, 25, of College Creek Terrace, and DeMarcus Terrell Beans, 20, of Captains Circle, both in Annapolis, are the seventh and eighth homicides in the county this year. Last year, county police investigated 12 homicides.

Investigators said they also are looking into the possibility the killings are linked to the shooting of a Severn man yesterday afternoon in the 800 block of Betsy Court in Annapolis.

Mr. Beans has family on that block, and Mr. Covington was arrested at 804 Betsy Court on Dec. 31 on a warrant charging him with escaping from a correctional facility, according to court records.

A city officer on patrol at Skippers Lane and Newtowne Drive was sent to the Betsy Court shooting about 1:15 p.m. The officer found Maurice L. Brown, 29, lying on the ground near 819 Betsy Court. He was bleeding from his chest, abdomen and right leg, police said, and his girlfriend was trying to help him.

He was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for treatment. He was in serious but stable condition this morning.

The Annapolis shooting happened just 12 hours after the Odenton shooting.

At 1:30 a.m., officers were called to the 1600 block of Annapolis Road and found the two men bleeding on the ground in a dead-end connected to the Odenton Plaza parking lot behind a closed Kentucky Fried Chicken.

A 23-year-old man also was found in the parking lot suffering from gun shot wounds. He was taken by ambulance to the shock trauma center with life-threatening injuries, said Battalion Chief Matthew Tobia, a county Fire Department spokesman. A fourth shooting victim, a 30-year-old man, was found in a wrecked vehicle in the 1400 block of Annapolis Road and driven to shock trauma with life-threatening injuries, he said.

Both men remained in critical but stable condition this morning. Police would not identify the men.

The majority of businesses in the strip mall, including a liquor store, pizzeria, tattoo parlor, and laundromat, were closed. However, Traffic Bar & Lounge remained open and had just announced last-call at the time of the shooting.

A woman, whose backyard in the Seven Oaks community sits just feet from where the shootings took place, said she heard at least three gunshots outside her bedroom window. Her daughter heard five, she said.

The woman declined to give her name because of her employment with the NSA.

She said the bodies of the two men remained on the scene until about 7:30 a.m., while police investigated. One was lying just off the pavement in a grassy area, and the other was behind a parked sport utility vehicle.

Upon hearing the gunshots, the woman said she stayed down in her bed for fear a bullet might come through her window. Yesterday morning, she woke up and inspected her home for gunshots. She said she often sees people and vehicles parked in that dead-end at all hours of the night.

"You always hear partying and loud noises over there, even with your windows closed," she said. "People are in the dead-end area. Cars meet back there all the time."

At 7:30 a.m., police knocked on her door and asked her what she saw or heard. It was all-too-familiar for the woman, who recalled a killing near her home two years ago.

In August 2006, Benjamin Howard Curtis, a 47-year-old former officer with Federal Protective Services, was shot at about 3 a.m. while sitting in his Ford Expedition with a 45-year-old woman. The two were parked behind My Place Bar and Lounge in the 1600 block of Annapolis Road when a man with a handgun walked up to the sport utility vehicle and demanded money. Mr. Curtis got into a fight with the robber and was shot in the upper body and later died.

Shortly after that shooting, Capt. David Waltemeyer, commander of the Criminal Investigation Division, told The Capital the strip of bars outside Fort Meade is a known problem spot - marred by drug deals, fights and prostitution - but it's improved over recent years.

The North Odenton Plaza parking lot was quiet yesterday afternoon, with shoppers coming and going as usual. Two patrol cars and an unmarked police vehicle sat in the parking lot. A pile of yellow police tape was strewn in the brush.

In Annapolis, the families of Mr. Covington and Mr. Beans mourned.

Mr. Covington's sister, Tyra Coleman, said her brother was the father of four young children, ages 2, 3, 4, and 6. Mr. Covington's ex-girlfriend and mother of the children is the sister of Mr. Beans, she said.

"DeMarcus was his kids' uncle," she said.

She said she does not know the other two shooting victims.

Ms. Coleman said her brother grew up in Annapolis and graduated from Annapolis High School and enjoyed playing his Sony PlayStation and text messaging on his cell phone. She described her brother as "jolly" and said, "Everybody liked him."

The family said they did not know what Mr. Beans and Mr. Covington were doing before the shooting.

Mr. Beans' family declined to comment this morning.

Officer Hal Dalton, a city Police Department spokesman, said police do not know if the shooting on Betsy Court is related to the quadruple shooting in Odenton, but city police officials are in close contact with the county police department about both incidents.

Sgt. Gilmer also said county police is sharing information with city police and investigating all leads.

A resident of an apartment nearby said he was watching the Ravens game when he heard about eight gunshots. He and others in the apartment hit the deck and didn't leave the apartment until police arrived.

The resident said he recognized Mr. Brown because he often sees him visiting his girlfriend.

Staff writer Lisa Beisel contributed to this report.