Officials say a single shooter killed and wounded multiple people at a Rite Aid distribution center in Maryland. The suspect is in critical condition at a local hospital. / Photo by Jose Luis Magana, AP
Multiple people were killed and injured in a shooting at a Rite Aid distribution center in northeast Maryland on Thursday morning.
By Shannon Von Sant / 09.20.2018
Multiple people were killed and injured in a shooting at a Rite Aid distribution center in northeast Maryland on Thursday morning, according to local officials.
Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler told a news conference, “Based on what we know right now, and [this is] again very preliminary, the lone suspect in this incident is in custody, and is in critical condition at a local hospital. It appears to be a single weapon that was used, a single handgun.”
A law enforcement source told Reuters that officials think the shooting may have been tied to a work-related grievance.
Citing a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, The Associated Press reported that three people were killed in the shooting.
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center spokeswoman Monica Stone told NPR the hospital admitted four patients with gunshot wounds from the attack in Aberdeen. Stone said two patients are stable, and two are seriously injured.
Gahler did not confirm the numbers of fatalities. “We do not believe that there is an additional threat anywhere to our Harford county community,” he said.
Reports came in at about 9:06 a.m. from the distribution center that shots were being fired.
Maryland’s Gov. Larry Hogan tweeted Thursday morning that law enforcement was on the scene. “We are closely monitoring the horrific shooting in Aberdeen,” Hogan wrote. “Our prayers are with all those impacted, including our first responders. The State stands ready to offer any support.”
We are closely monitoring the horrific shooting in Aberdeen. Our prayers are with all those impacted, including our first responders. The State stands ready to offer any support. https://t.co/fzugpo8C1Z
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) September 20, 2018
No shots were fired by law enforcement officers on the scene, the sheriff said.
“Unfortunately in today’s world we have active shooter drilling, and drills,” Harford County Chief Executive Barry Glassman told the news conference. “And I can tell you, and tell our Harford County citizens, that every agency performed at the top of their profession, and the response from all our allied agencies was great.”
Susan Henderson, a spokeswoman for Rite Aid, told CNN Wire, the distribution center has about 1,000 employees. “The distribution center is where products are received and processed for delivery,” she said. “This is part of a large facility that is a distribution center. The shooting happened adjacent to the primary building.”
The attack comes nearly three months after a gunman shot dead five staff members of The Capital Gazette, in Annapolis, Md., 59 miles from the Rite Aid distribution center.
Last year, three were killed and two injured in a shooting at a kitchen countertop company in Edgewood, Md., 11 miles from Thursday morning’s attack.
The Capital Gazette reports that Thursday’s shooting in Aberdeen is the third workplace shooting in the U.S. in 24 hours:
“Four people were shot around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at a software company, WTS Paradigm, in Middleton, Wisc., by a 43-year-old co-worker, police said. The gunman was shot and killed by police. Three of the injured were in serious condition as of Thursday morning, one suffered a graze wound.
“Then, around 2 p.m., four people including a police officer were shot after a man opened fire outside a judge’s office in a municipal building in Masontown, Penn. The suspect, Patrick Dowdell, 61, was shot and killed by police. Dowdell had a preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday on domestic charges of strangulation, aggravated assault and terroristic threats from an incident several weeks ago.”
Glassman, the county chief executive, said Thursday that shootings are “becoming a too often occurrence, not only in Harford County, but in the country.”
Originally published by NPR, reprinted with permission for non-commercial purposes.