An employee opened fire at a manufacturing plant in Maryland on Thursday afternoon, killing three colleagues and seriously injuring another before being shot by a U.S. soldier in an exchange of gunfire that left both wounded, authorities said.
Washington County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived at the facility near Smithsburg, Maryland, about 70 miles northwest of Baltimore, in response to reports of an active gunman around 2:30 p.m., but the man has already fled, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies found three people dead and a man in critical condition at Columbia Machine, a company based in Vancouver, Washington, the sheriff’s office said. Company officials did not immediately respond to phone calls and emails.
Maryland State Police officers on their way to the plant spotted the suspect based on a description of him and his vehicle, the sheriff’s office said. When they tried to stop the vehicle, the man “immediately” started firing at them with a semi-automatic pistol, injuring a soldier, the sheriff’s office said. The troops returned fire.
The injured soldier was hospitalized and released, and the condition of the suspect is not known immediately.
The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear.
The officers who were fatally shot were Mark A. Frey, 50, Charles E. Minick Jr., 31, and Joshua R. Wallace, 30. The man who was seriously injured was Brandon C. Michael, 42.
The suspect has been identified as a 23-year-old from West Virginia, but authorities have not released his name because he has not been charged, said Sheriff Douglas W. Mulandor of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Mayor Donald L. Souders described Smithsburg as a small town of about 3,000 people about 25 miles south of Gettysburg and north of Antietam.
“We are a city that has seen tragedies before,” said Mr Souders. “It simply came to our notice then. And we will do the same and be there for the victims, their families, the survivors and the officer who was wounded today. “
The sheriff’s office said federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were helping with the investigation.
Columbia Machine is a privately held company founded in 1937 that designs, manufactures and maintains “factory automation equipment solutions for various industries” and operates in more than 100 countries, the company said in a 2019 statement.
The shooting came after a series of recent massacres, including one in Uwalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York.
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen said in a statement Thursday night that he was “devastated” by the shooting.
“Today’s horrific shooting comes when our country and nation are witnessing tragedy after tragedy and must stop,” he said. “We need to act to deal with the mass shootings and daily casualties of gun violence against our communities.