Three individuals were slain and one person was injured at a Maryland manufacturing plant on Thursday, June 9 by a coworker who was also injured after a gunfight with a state trooper.
Around 2:30 p.m., deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the Columbia Machine facility in Smithsburg after receiving reports of an active shooter.
“First on the scene were officers from the Smithsburg Police Department, who discovered an injured victim outside the business,” according to the sheriff’s office. “As deputies arrived on the scene, three more victims were discovered inside the establishment, all of whom were deceased.”
Mark Alan Frey, 50, Charles Edward Minnick Jr., 31, and Joshua Robert Wallace, 30, were named as the victims on Thursday night.
The person who was hurt was
He fled the area before authorities arrived, but when he was discovered, a shootout erupted, with the gunman and trooper both being injured.
Both of them were transferred to a hospital for treatment.
According to Maryland State Police practice, the troopers involved in the shooting will be assigned to administrative duty until the inquiry is completed.
Investigators discovered an unidentified semi-automatic handgun at both crime scenes, which they suspect was used in both.
A local hospital was also placed on lockdown after the incident at 3:50 p.m. local time and was removed a few hours later. At the medical center, the suspect is still being guarded by police.
Rep. David Trone, a Democrat from Maryland, said he was keeping an eye on the situation.
“A representative from our office has been contacted.”
