Carnage in Maryland Leaves 2 Critically Injured, Shooter Dead

FREDERICK, Md. (CN) —  Two U.S. sailors are in critical condition Tuesday morning after being shot by a 38-year-old Navy medic at Riverside Technology Park in Maryland.

Killed by security forces at the military base Fort Detrick, where he fled after the business park shooting about 10 minutes away, the assailant was quickly identified as 38-year-old Fantahun Girma Woldesenbet. The medic had been assigned to Fort Detrick, and authorities have yet to disclose any motive for his firing of a rifle at Riverside Technology Park.

Shortly after the police were alerted to the shooting after 8 a.m., Fort Detrick as well as Frederick-area schools and colleges had been placed on lockdown.

Their identities not yet public, the victims were taken by helicopter to a shock trauma hospital in Baltimore. Police the victim in serious condition could be released Wednesday, while the other individual is in critical but stable condition.

"Our number one priority is the safety of our people," U.S. Army Garrison Fort Detrick Commander Col. Dexter Nunnally said in a statement posted to its Facebook page. "Our emergency responders are well trained for these types of situations and the fast response of our military police enabled us to contain this threat quickly."

Frederick Police Chief Jason Lando said at a 10:30 a.m. news conference streamed on Facebook Live Tuesday morning that his department has confirmed the public is no longer at risk. He said that, while the police are investigating two crime scenes, they are confident there was just one shooter. “This is a very active scene,” he said, adding that no police members or other bystanders had been injured during the event.

“This is certainly not how we expected our Tuesday to begin,” Frederick Mayor Michael O'Connor added at the press conference Tuesday. “I just want to send the city’s wishes to the families of the victims in hopes for quick recoveries.”

The police department plans to stream another press conference this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. via Facebook Live.

Baltimore’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tweeted at around 10 a.m. that its special agents and K-9 team were assisting law enforcement on the scene. 

“More information will be provided by the lead investigating agency when available,” the tweet said.

The shooting comes as U.S. legislators are focused on solutions to America's gun crisis. Studies have found a correlation between states with more relaxed gun laws and mass shootings. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on gun violence in America one week after eight people, six of them Asian women, were slayed in Atlanta. The day before the hearing, a March 22 shooting left 10 dead at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado.

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