At Least 3 Killed, Several Wounded In Mass Shooting At Rite Aid Distribution Facility In Maryland
PERRYMAN, Md. (CBS News/AP) —At least three people were killed and several more wounded in a shooting Thursday morning at a Rite Aid distribution center in northeast Maryland, officials said.
A law enforcement official with knowledge of the shooting stressed that the number of dead is based on preliminary information. The official wasn't authorized to discuss details by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.
The lone suspect in the shooting has been apprehended and is in critical condition.
"I can confirm multiple wounded and multiple fatalities," Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler said.
Gahler said at a press conference early Thursday afternoon that there is no longer any threat at the site of the shooting.
The shooting took place at a Rite Aid distribution center. A law enforcement official told The Associated Press earlier that three people were killed. The official has knowledge of the shooting but wasn't authorized to discuss details by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Gahler said a call about shots fired came in from the Rite Aid distribution center at 9:06 a.m., and deputies and other officers were on the scene in just over five minutes. It appears there was only one weapon, a handgun, that was used, and there were no shots fired by responding law enforcement officers, Gahler said.
Witnesses said they saw multiple police departments and ambulances responding, CBS Baltimore reported. The ATF and FBI were also responding.
"We are so preliminary in this investigation," Gahler said.
Colleen Hendrickson lives and works nearby, and she thought it was a normal day while heading to catch the bus and head to work, but then someone warned her there was an active shooting nearby.
"It's mostly warehouses in the area," she said. "It's usually just a really sleepy place."
Authorities asked that people avoid the area.
The attack comes almost three months after a man attacked a newspaper office in Annapolis, Maryland. Five staff members were killed in that shooting. Authorities accused Jarrod W. Ramos of attacking The Capital Gazette because of a longstanding grudge against the paper.
In a tweet, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said his office is monitoring the situation in Aberdeen and that the state stands ready to offer any support. He called it a "horrific shooting."
Susan Henderson, spokesman for the drugstore chain Rite Aid, said the shooting happened on the campus of a company distribution center in Aberdeen. She described it as a support facility adjacent to a larger building.
Harford County Executive Barry Glassman said that unfortunately, incidents like this are "becoming a too-often occurrence not only in Harford County but in the country."
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