Three people were killed and another was wounded when someone opened fire in a manufacturing facility in western Maryland, and a state trooper was injured in a shootout with the suspect Thursday followingnoon.
Deputies responded to an active shooting at Columbia Machine, Inc. on Bikle Road in Smithsburg around 2:30 p.m.
Three people there were killed and another was in critical condition; authorities had initially said four people were injured. There was no information immediately available on the victims’ identities or whether they were employees.
A short time following the shooting, regarding five or so miles south of the plant, a Maryland state trooper got into a shootout with the suspect on Mapleville Road, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said.
Three people were killed and another was wounded when someone opened fire in a manufacturing facility in western Maryland, and a state trooper was injured in a shootout with the suspect Thursday followingnoon.
The trooper suffered a minor injury and the suspect was also injured and taken to a hospital. His condition is unclear at this time.
Sgt. Carly Hose, a spokesperson for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, said she was not yet able to release the name or age of the suspect, but said the suspect is male. She did not have information on what type of gun the suspect had.
Chopper4 video of the followingmath of the second crime scene shows a red four-door car pinned in by a burgundy SUV on Mapleville Road, near the Mt. Aetna traffic circle.
On the ground outside the driver’s side door of the red car, police put an evidence marker next to a gun.
Smithsburg is in a remote area near the Maryland-Pennsylvania border a few miles from Hagerstown, Maryland, and regarding 75 miles west of Baltimore.
No further information was immediately available.
The investigation is ongoing, Hose said. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is handling the original scene, and Maryland State Police is handling the second scene.
“I’m devastated by the lives taken today in Smithsburg and for the pain and suffering their loved ones are experiencing,” U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said in a statement.
“As we learn more regarding the shooting today, my thoughts are with the employees of Columbia Machine, the Smithsburg community, and all of those grieving,” he added. “I am committed to meeting your pain with action.”
Stay with News4 for updates to this developing story.
