Accused Md. shooter Hong Young told police he was hearing voices
MILLERSVILLE, Md. - The man accused of shooting at five public places in Maryland told police he heard voices directing him to fire at a random driver, according to charging documents released Thursday.
No one was killed or seriously hurt, but Hong Young, 35, is charged with attempted murder and assault in the first shooting - on Feb. 24, at a mall - that wounded a 61-year-old man.
The man, whose name is redacted in the charged documents, told police a car pulled up beside his, and the driver "produced a gun and pointed it" at him. The man said he heard several shots and felt pain in his right shoulder, according to the documents, but it wasn't until he got home that he realized he'd been grazed by a bullet.
The victim, identified as a Korean man, made the report with the help of his son, who translated for police.
It was the first in a string of five shootings, including one at a National Security Agency building, that had central Maryland police on high alert for more than a week.
Young was arrested Tuesday night when officers spotted his car parked in a vacant mall lot close to the site of the first shooting.
Young told the officers he had come from the Maryland Live! Casino and had trouble finding his car.
The officers noticed shell casings in the car and a handgun on the front passenger seat.
Young was taken into custody, court records show, where he waived his right to have an attorney present during police questioning.
Police said Thursday that they were also investigating reports of damage to the exterior of the casino from possible bullet holes. Police said they were told of the damage by casino management on Wednesday. No injuries were reported nor were there any reports of shots fired.
Law enforcement officials are still investigating a motive.
"Clearly, he was continuing to do it until he got caught," Anne Arundel County Police spokesman T.J. Smith said. "This guy apparently has some other issues going on (that) our detectives continue to follow up on."
Young filed for divorce in September after nearly seven years of marriage. The case was dismissed Monday because his wife, Bunnary Ngo, had not been served with documents in the case, according to court records in Prince George's County.
Calls to numbers listed for Young and Ngo went to voicemail.
Police found hundreds of rounds of ammunition during a search of Young's house, along with 10 weapons, including handguns and a crossbow.
Joy Abraham, 65, who lives next door to Hong's two-story red brick home, said he remembered the younger man seeming "withdrawn."
Young had been taken to a hospital after his arrest but was later released and ordered held without bond at a maximum-security detention facility in Annapolis. He has a bail hearing before a judge set for Friday.
Authorities said they didn't know whether he had an attorney to comment on the charges against Young, and none was listed for him in online court records.
Young was a prison guard from January 2012 to May 2014, according to Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Stephen Moyer.
"There was nothing significant about his employment," Moyer said. "He was assigned to one of the medium (security) facilities in Jessup. He resigned. There was nothing remarkable about his file."
Investigators said they matched the casings and a .380 semi-automatic handgun to last week's shooting. The gun was legally registered to Young.
The shooting sites are within a 12-mile radius in the Baltimore-Washington area.