Jun 9, 2022 - Politics & Policy

At least 3 dead after shooting at Maryland business

Photo: Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images

A gunman opened fire inside a private business in Smithsburg, Maryland, killing at least three people and leaving one person with critical injuries, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

The latest: Authorities said at a news briefing that all four shooting victims at the Columbia Machine warehouse and the suspect were Columbia Manufacturing employees.

  • Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore at the briefing named those killed as 50-year-old Mark Alan Frey, 31-year-old Charles Edward Minnick and 30-year-old Joshua Robert Wallace.

Details: Mullendore said the shooter opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun about 2:30pm ET at Columbia Machine, a parts manufacturing company in Smithsburg.

  • After the shooting at the manufacturing facility, the suspect fled but was later pursued and confronted by Maryland State Police, according to the sheriff's office.
  • During the confrontation, the suspect allegedly shot at and injured a trooper, who then returned fire and injured him. Both the trooper and the suspect were transported for medical treatment.
  • The shooter's motive and condition were not immediately unknown. His name was not immediately disclosed because he had yet to be charged.

The big picture: Smithsburg is a town of roughly 3,000 around 75 miles northwest of Baltimore.

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