Maryland shooting: 3 killed, 3 injured at factory; victims identified

SMITHSBURG, Md. — Three people were killed and three others, including the alleged gunman, were injured Thursday afternoon during a shooting at a western Maryland manufacturing plant, authorities said.

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A law enforcement official confirmed the fatalities to NBC News and WJZ-TV, adding that a Maryland state trooper suffered a minor injury in a confrontation with the alleged shooter. The alleged shooter was one of the people injured, The Herald-Times of Hagerstown reported. One person was critically injured.

Update 10:28 p.m. EDT June 9: Washington County Sheriff Doug Mullendore identified the deceased as Mark Alan Frey, 50; Charles Edward Minnick Jr., 31; and Joshua Robert Wallace, 30, The Herald-Times of Hagerstown reported. Mullendore said Brandon Chase Michael, 42, was wounded. His condition was not immediately available.

The suspect is identified as a 23-year-old man from West Virginia. Further details were not being provided because charges have not yet been filed, Mullendore said. The man was taken to an area hospital and was being treated for his injuries, the sheriff said.

Officials confirmed that the victims and the suspect are employees at the factory, WDVM-TV reported.

The name and age of the Maryland State Police trooper who was injured also were not released, The Herald-Times reported.

The suspect and the trooper were wounded in an exchange of gunfire, the sheriff’s office said.

Original report: “There are fatalities,” Washington County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Joshua McCauley told The Washington Post earlier Thursday.

The suspect was taken into custody by Maryland State Police at Mount Aetna, Washington County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Carly Hose told The Herald-Times.

According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the shooting occurred at about 2:30 p.m. EDT at the Columbia Machine Inc. manufacturing plant in Smithsburg, the newspaper reported.

According to its website, the company designs and manufactures concrete product machines, including mixers and molds. It serves customers in more than 100 countries and was founded in 1937.

Upon arrival, deputies found multiple victims, WBAL-TV reported.

The suspect in the shooting “is no longer a threat to the community,” the sheriff’s office posted on its Facebook page.

“This is a rapidly evolving incident and we will release information as we are able,” the post stated.

During a news conference earlier Thursday afternoon, Gov. Larry Hogan said he believed that three people were killed.

“What I understand, potentially, three people dead,” Hogan told reporters. “Maryland State Police responded, pursued the suspect, the suspect fired and shot the trooper in the shoulder, who then returned fire and shot him.”

Smithsburg is located about 75 miles northwest of Baltimore near the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, The Associated Press reported.

U.S. Rep. David Trone, whose district includes Smithsburg, said his office is actively monitoring the incident, WJZ reported.

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