Shooting in Maryland leaves three people dead and a police officer injured

A gunman opened fire and killed three people at a manufacturing business in western Maryland, wounding both the man and a police officer after the officer exchanged gunfire in an attempt to stop him.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that three victims were found dead at the Columbia Machine Inc. company in Smithsburg. The suspect fled in a vehicle and was located by Maryland State Police, according to the release.

The suspect and the officer were injured in an exchange of gunfire, police said. Both receive medical attention for their injuries.

“The suspect opened fire on the officer, causing a wound to his shoulder. The agent repelled the aggression and injured him,” explained Governor Larry Hogan.

Authorities had no information on whether the suspect and victims were employees of the business where the shooting took place, Police Sgt. Carly Hose said at a news conference.

Relatives of the workers gathered at a nearby fire station waiting for news about their loved ones.

Press photos showed a large police presence at the scene, including emergency vehicles.

Smithsburg, a community of nearly 3,000 people, is located 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of Baltimore, not far from the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, and near Camp David, which is used by the President of the United States.

The company is located in an area with few residences around it.

Sgt. Carly Hose previously told The Associated Press that there were multiple victims at the scene on Bikle Road, though she did not provide details as to the condition of those affected.

Agents from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Baltimore Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) responded to the shooting.

This new deadly shooting comes at a time when the debate over gun control has returned to the forefront in America, following the tragic mass shootings at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

In the latter, 19 children died – most of them 10 years old – and two teachers.

A few hours earlier, this Thursday, the United States House of Representatives voted in favor of a legislative initiative that allows activating a legal procedure to confiscate firearms from people who may represent a danger to others or to themselves.

The measure, which must now be voted on in the Senate, was approved with the support of 224 congressmen -mostly from the Democratic Party- and with the vote against of 202 parliamentarians, practically all of them from the Republican Party.