UPDATED: 9:19 p.m.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A gunman opened fire on his co-workers at a manufacturing facility in northern Maryland on Thursday, killing at least three people and critically wounding a fourth before being taken into custody after a shootout with police.
The 23-year-old assailant, who was not identified by police, was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with a Maryland state trooper while trying to flee in a car, Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore told a news conference.
Both the suspect and trooper were taken to a local hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds in the latest in a series of mass shootings to plague the United States.
Mullendore declined to elaborate on the circumstances or possible motives behind the attack but said the gunman and all of his victims were employees of Columbia Machine in Smithsburg, in northern Maryland near the Pennsylvania state line.
He said the shooter used a semi-automatic pistol handgun.
A Columbia Machine spokesperson said the company was cooperating with authorities in their probe into the shooting but declined to comment further.
The company supplies concrete manufacturing equipment to customers in over 100 countries, according to its website.
The Baltimore offices of the FBI and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said they were sending agents to the scene.
Late last month, an 18-year-old man opened fire at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 students and two teachers.
The killings in Uvalde and a mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York that left 10 people dead, have prompted new efforts in U.S. Congress to enact stricter federal gun control laws.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Bill Berkrot and Richard Pullin)
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UPDATED 5:38 p.m.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A gunman opened fire at a manufacturing facility in northern Maryland on Thursday, killing at least three people and critically wounding a fourth before being taken into custody after a shootout with police.
The assailant, who was not immediately identified, was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with a Maryland state trooper, a Washington County Sheriff’s spokeswoman said. Both the suspect and trooper were taken to a local hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds.
The spokeswoman said there was “no active threat” to the community but declined to elaborate on the circumstances of the incident, the latest in a string of mass shootings to plague the United States.
The shooting erupted at a plant operated by Columbia Machine in Smithsburg, in northern Maryland near the Pennsylvania state line.
A Columbia Machine spokesperson said the company was cooperating with authorities in their probe into the shooting but declined to comment further.
The company supplies concrete manufacturing equipment to customers in over 100 countries, according to its website.
The Baltimore offices of the FBI and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said on Twitter it was sending agents to the scene.
Late last month, an 18-year-old man opened fire at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 students and two teachers.
The killings in Uvalde and a mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York that left 10 people dead, have prompted new efforts in U.S. Congress to enact stricter federal gun control laws.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Tim Ahmann, Lisa Shumaker and Bill Berkrot)
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A shooter opened fire at a manufacturing facility in northern Maryland on Thursday, killing at least three people, state police said.
The suspect, who was not immediately identified, opened fire at Columbia Machine Inc’s factory in Smithsburg, Maryland. There was no immediate word on a possible motive.
Maryland State Police said that three people had been slain. It was not immediately clear if others were wounded.
“My understanding is there are potentially three people killed,” Maryland Governor Larry Hogan told reporters. Hogan said a state trooper was struck by a round fired by the shooter.
A Colombia Machine spokesperson said that the company was cooperating with authorities in their probe into the shooting but declined to say how many employees were at the site when the shooting happened.
The company supplies concrete manufacturing equipment to customers in over 100 countries, according to its website.
The Baltimore office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives said on Twitter it was sending agents to the scene in Smithsburg, in northern Maryland near the Pennsylvania state line.
“We are actively monitoring the mass shooting in #Smithsburg right now, and our office is in contact with officials on the ground,” U.S. Representative David Trone of Maryland said on Twitter.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Lisa Shumaker)
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A shooter opened fire at a manufacturing facility in northern Maryland on Thursday, killing at least three people, authorities said.
The suspect, who was not immediately identified, opened fire at Columbia Machine Inc’s factory in Smithsburg, Maryland, Fox News reported. There was no immediate word on a possible motive.
“We are actively monitoring the mass shooting in #Smithsburg right now, and our office is in contact with officials on the ground,” U.S. Representative David Trone of Maryland said on Twitter.
“If you’re local, please stay away from the area as law enforcement responds,” Trone said.
Columbia Machine supplies concrete manufacturing equipment to customers in over 100 countries, according to its website.
Smithsburg is near the Pennsylvania state line.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Lisa Shumaker)
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A shooter opened fire at a factory in northern Maryland, on Thursday, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said, and Fox News reported at least three people had been killed.
The suspect, who was not immediately identified by police, opened fire at Columbia Machine Inc’s Smithsburg, Maryland, facility, Fox reported. The network said state police had confirmed three fatalities.
The sheriff’s department did not immediately confirm the casualties to Reuters, and it was not clear whether anyone else was wounded.
“We are actively monitoring the mass shooting in #Smithsburg right now, and our office is in contact with officials on the ground,” U.S. Representative David Trone of Maryland said on Twitter.
“If you’re local, please stay away from the area as law enforcement responds,” Trone said.
Smithsburg is near the Pennsylvania state line.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Tim Ahmann)
This story will be updated.
