Frederick County Deputies Fatally Shoot Suspect
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- Two deputies opened fire on a robbery suspect who refused to drop a shotgun pointed in their direction, killing the man in a bedroom of his Mount Airy apartment early Thursday, the Frederick County Sheriff's Office said.
Daniel Vail, 19, was a suspect in a nearby home invasion Tuesday that also involved a shotgun, authorities said. The deputies, Charles Zang and Kevin Riffle, were executing a "high-risk" warrant to search Vail's Westwind Drive apartment for evidence of that crime, Cpl. Jennifer Bailey said in a news release.
She said Zang and Riffle were members of a team that arrived at the residence around 1 a.m. She said the team detonated a diversionary "flash-bang" device and announced their presence numerous times as they entered the apartment.
Zang and Riffle found Vail in one of the two bedrooms, pointing the gun toward them, Bailey said. When he didn't comply with several commands to drop the weapon, they "fired numerous rounds from their issued handguns, striking Vail," Bailey said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Deputies found Vail's mother in the other bedroom. She was interviewed by investigators at the sheriff's office in Frederick and released, Bailey said.
The home invasion Tuesday was on Long Corner Road, just south of Mount Airy in Howard County. Howard County police had asked Frederick County officers to serve the warrant because Vail lived in Frederick County.
The home invasion involved three suspects who drove to the Long Corner Road address and confronted four victims with a shotgun and a baseball bat, Howard County police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said. She said they repeatedly demanded money from the victims but left after they refused. Police are investigating whether the incident was drug-related, Llewellyn said.
The Frederick officers, both deputies first class, are on paid administrative leave while investigators review the shooting, Bailey said. Zang is a 15-year veteran. Riffle has been with the agency for seven years.
Zang fatally shot another man in 2005. According to police reports, he shot Charles Sines, 69, at a home on Araby Church Road on June 22, 2005, after Sines ignored repeated commands to drop a shotgun.
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