US: Gunman kills three people at Maryland factory

Man taken into custody after attacking co-workers at a factory in the latest shooting in the United States.

A gunman has opened fire on his co-workers at a manufacturing facility in northern Maryland, United States, killing at least three people and critically wounding a fourth before being taken into custody after a shoot-out with police.

Washington County Sheriff Doug Mullendore said police responded to reports of an active gunman at Columbia Machine Inc in Smithsburg at about 2:30pm (18:30 GMT) on Thursday.

Three victims were found dead and a fourth victim was critically injured, Mullendore said. He declined to elaborate on the circumstances or possible motives behind the attack but said the gunman and all of his victims were employees of the facility.

The 23-year-old assailant, who was not identified by police, opened fire using a semi-automatic pistol and then fled in a vehicle before authorities arrived at the scene.

He was tracked down and wounded in an exchange of gunfire with a Maryland state trooper. Both the suspect and trooper were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The sheriff identified those killed in the shooting as Mark Alan Frey, 50; Charles Edward Minnick Jr., 31; and Joshua Robert Wallace, 30. Mullendore said the wounded victim was Brandon Chase Michael, 42.

Maryland State Police Lt Col Bill Dofflemyer said the wounded trooper was doing well and that the suspect was being treated.

Dofflemyer said the suspect opened fire when police made a traffic stop. Troopers returned fire, wounding the suspect.

He declined to release a motive for the mass shooting. “We’re still working with sheriff’s office on what happened and why it kept escalating,” Dofflemyer told reporters.

A Columbia Machine spokesperson said the company was cooperating with authorities in their probe into the shooting but declined to comment further.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES