Maryland officer shot as active shooter situation unfolds at police station

Maryland officer shot as active shooter situation unfolds at police station

Mar 13th 2016 5:42PM

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March 13 (Reuters) - A police officer was shot and critically wounded on Sunday as an active-shooter situation unfolded outside a Prince George's County police station in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, authorities said on Twitter.

There were no immediate details on the circumstances of the shooting as police urged residents in a tweet to stay inside and away from the police station in the vicinity of Landover, Maryland, about 8 miles east of the nation's capital.

Police also said a shooter or shooters remained at large.

A dispatch clerk answering the phone at the station declined to provide any information. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien and Frank McGurty; Editing by Peter Cooney and Jonathan Oatis)

http://www.aol.com/article/2016/03/1...-pol/21327095/

• PGPDNEWS ‏@PGPDNews 11m11 minutes ago
  202 closed @ 495. 202 also closed at MLK as well. Barlowe Road closed, no traffic able to enter Barlowe Road from side streets. #mdtraffic
  
  
  
• https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...VJk_bigger.jpgPGPDNEWS ‏@PGPDNews 17m17 minutes ago
  Media is asked to stage at Prince George's Hospital Center.
  
  
  
• https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...VJk_bigger.jpgPGPDNEWS ‏@PGPDNews 27m27 minutes ago
  UPDATE: We have 1 suspect in custody in connection with shooting of our officer.
  
  
  
• https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...VJk_bigger.jpgPGPDNEWS ‏@PGPDNews 59m59 minutes ago
  From Beltway down 202 to MLK is closed to traffic. Residents who live near PGPD HQ are asked to stay indoors.
  
  
  
• https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...VJk_bigger.jpgPGPDNEWS ‏@PGPDNews 1h1 hour ago
  Officer critically wounded. Palmer Park/Landover residents near Barlowe Rd/Rt 202: Shelter in place. Shooter(s) at large.
  
  
• https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...VJk_bigger.jpgPGPDNEWS ‏@PGPDNews 2h2 hours ago
  Officer shot, possible active shooter(s) outside District III station next to PGPD HQ. Stay inside. Avoid area.
  

Maryland police: Officer shot, 2 suspects in custody


Tribune news services Contact Reporter


Authorities in Maryland say a police officer was critically wounded in a shooting near a police station, and two suspects are in custody.

Assistant Fire Chief Alan Doubleday says another person also was shot Sunday and was taken by ambulance to Prince George's Hospital Center in stable condition. He says police took the wounded officer to the same hospital.

Officials say the shooting occurred at a community center next to the Landover police station in Prince George's County, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Police had initially posted a message on Twitter asking residents to avoid the area and to stay inside because of a possible "active shooter" situation. Police later said they don't believe there are any other suspects.

Other details weren't immediately released, and the suspects weren't immediately identified.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...313-story.html

Maryland Cop Dies in Shooting Near Police Headquarters

• By ABC NEWS

Mar 13, 2016, 8:48 PM ET

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Evan Vucci/AP Photo

A police K9 unit searches the grounds of a Popeyes restaurant during an investigation into the shooting of a Prince George's County police officer outside a police station, on Sunday, March 13, 2016, in Hyattsville, Md.


The police officer who was critically injured in a shooting this evening near the Prince George’s County Police Department headquarters died after what authorities called an unprovoked attack on the station.

Two people have been taken into custody in connection to the shooting in Hyattsville, Maryland, the Prince George’s County Police Department said.

"We do not believe there are outstanding suspects but investigation is in early stages," the department tweeted.

Police had previously said there was a possible active shooter, or shooters, and advised residents to stay indoors and avoid the area.

The FBI said its field office based in Baltimore is assisting in the response.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/maryland-co...ry?id=37620255

Malik Ford, Michael Ford are suspects arrested in Md. officer’s killing: report

http://twt-thumbs.washtimes.com/medi...8ce6f8bab39b2a
Police stand outside a Popeyes restaurant during an investigation into the shooting of a Prince George’s County police officer outside a police station, on Sunday, March 13, 2016, in Hyattsville, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) more >

By Victor Morton - The Washington Times - Sunday, March 13, 2016

The two men arrested in the slaying of Officer Jacai Colson in Landover, Md., have been identified as Malik Ford and Michael Ford.

The Washington Post cited two named family members as saying that the men are brothers and have been arrested in Officer Colson’s death, though one of the family members said they were innocent.

Erica Thomas, 39, of Washington, told The Post she was the brothers’ aunt and that Michael Ford was the one shot by police in the ensuing gunfight after the apparent ambush.

Police did not officially identify the men Sunday night.
Cpl. Harry A. Bond, spokesman for the Prince George’s County Police Department, declined to confirm or deny the report to The Washington Times, referring a request for comment to the official press release for the evening and promising updates Monday.

Police said one suspect was shot and a second in custody.

Ms. Thomas was at Prince George’s Medical Center, waiting news Sunday night on the two men, saying “I just want to know where they’re at.” She said she couldn’t provide a possible motive.

Deidre Ramos, 60, of Hyattsville, told The Post that she was the Ford brothers’ grandmother and confirmed their arrest. But she said police had the wrong men.

“They weren’t involved,” she said.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...-colson-kill/?

http://i2.wp.com/heavyeditorial.file...trip=all&ssl=1
Officer Jacai Colson

A 28-year-old Prince George's County, Maryland, police officer was fatally shot after a gunman ambushed officers near the department's headquarters.

3 brothers involved in death of Prince George's Co. officer

Three brothers in custody in fatal shooting

WUSA 11:27 AM. EST March 14, 2016

http://content.wusa9.com/photo/2016/...611_ver1.0.jpg

LANDOVER, Md. (WUSA9) -- Three brothers are in custody in connection with the shooting death of a Prince George's County police officer.

Two of the brothers have been identified as Malik Ford and Michael Ford, according to their aunt and our partners at the Washington Post.

The name of the third brother is not known at this time.

MORE: Officer killed in 'unprovoked attack' in Prince George's Co.

Sunday night, a woman told WUSA9 that she believed her two nephews, Malik and Michael, were involved. She was mystified.

"Why did all of this happen? What caused this? We don't know," she said.

The fallen officer, four-year veteran Jacai Colson, was gunned down in an "unprovoked attack" outside the police headquarters in Palmer Park.

Officials say the men ambushed the station in the 7600 block of Barlowe Road as officers were "going about their business on a Sunday afternoon in their home."

Police tweeted that "evidence shows the gunman intended to die during a gun battle with police."

Police have not identified which of the three brothers was the gunman.

One brother was wounded during the altercation and was treated for non-life threatening injuries at Prince George's Hospital Center. Another brother fled and was arrested at a nearby Popeyes. It is unclear how the third brother was involved.

Flags are flying at half staff in Maryland to honor Officer Colson.

http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/land...ficer/81983494

https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/im...EeWpzmgQVcegXw
Three Prince George’s County brothers are in custody in connection with the ambush of an officer. (Prince George's Police Dept.)

Prince George’s officer likely killed by friendly fire during chaotic gunbattle

By Lynh Bui, Peter Hermann and Justin Jouvenal March 14 at 5:41 PM

Two of the brothers held in connection with the fatal shooting of a Prince George’s County officer on Sunday filmed the attack on a police station using their cell phones, according to three law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation.

Prince George’s County police announced earlier Monday that they had in custody a third brother in connection with the shooting that left Officer Jacai Colson, 28, a four-year veteran, dead.

Police said one of the suspects intended to die in the attack and recorded his last will and testament on video minutes before his brothers drove him to the police station, where Colson died in a shootout.

Police also said Monday evening that circumstantial evidence shows that the bullet that struck Colson during the gun battle likely was fired by another officer.

Police said the suspects are Michael DeAndre Ford, 22, of Landover, who police said initiated the gun battle, and his brothers, Malik Ford, 21, of Fort Washington, and Elijah Ford, 18, of Landover.

Police Chief Henry P. Stawinski III said a man walked up to the District III station and opened fire outside the front doors about 4:30 p.m.

Sunday in what he described as an “unprovoked” and “callous” act. The brothers also shoot

https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/im...EeWWDyLEupgu1A

Officers rushed out to stop the attack. Colson was killed in the gunfight, the chief said. Michael Ford was wounded and taken to a hospital where he is in stable condition, the chief said.

[5 officers have died in ambushes this year]
Police said they didn’t know of a motive.

“This is about nothing, it was unprovoked,” Stawinski said during a press conference Monday at police headquarters..

Colson was in an unmarked car on his way to meet another officer and arrived amid an ongoing shooting, the chief said. An autopsy on Colson is not complete, the chief said.

An aunt for the three suspects, Shante Ramos, 30, said on Monday that Michael Ford suffers from bipolar disorder and has been battling mental illness all of his life.

“We have no idea what sparked this,” she said. Ramos confirmed that Michael was the one who was shot, but she said relatives have been unable to see him and they don’t have any details about his injuries.

“We can’t believe this is happening,” said Ramos, who lives in Northwest. “We are so sad for this officer dying. We have no idea what happened.”

Prince George's County police officer killed in shooting

She said that Michael acts up when he is off his medication, and that he was homeless for a time while in Montgomery County. She said he and his brothers were raised by her sister, Lisa, a single mother who had five children.

“We didn’t see any of this happening,” Ramos said. “They’re saying Michael wanted to kill himself. We just don’t know.” She said his mother, Lisa, suffered a heart attack after police in Prince George’s County burst into her house to search it after the shooting, and is now at the same hospital as her wounded son.

A spokesman with the Greenville County, S.C. Sheriff’s Office said there was a warrant out for a misdemeanor domestic violence charge against one of the suspects, Michael Ford. The spokesman said Ford was accused of punching his wife several times around 1 a.m. on Saturday.

The slain officer’s father, James Colson III, was rushing from Philadelphia to the Washington region Sunday night. His son, he said, “was courageous and an excellent role model” for young men.

Colson graduated from Chichester High School in Boothwyn, Pa., where he was born, and went on to play football at Randolph-Macon College, according to a team roster. Pedro Arruza, the football team’s coach, recalled Colson for his strength of character.

“He was a great kid,” Arruza said of Colson, who played one season for the team at defensive back and wide receiver. “A really respectful kid and just a high-character young man. He treated everyone with respect. . . . To be honest, he wasn’t a great player, but he was a really great person.”

His high school coach, Joe LaRose, said Jacai Colson’s grandfather was also a police officer.

Michael Thomas, who said he is a relative of the three brothers, declined comment Monday at a family home in Fort Washington saying he could not talk because “the family is going through a lot right now.”

The grandmother of the three, Deidre Ramos, 60, of Hyattsville, said Malik and Michael Ford were arrested in connection with the shooting but she said police had the wrong suspects.

“They weren’t involved,” she said. Asked if police arrested the wrong people, she said, “Yes.”

Colson, who would have turned 29 this week, was described as a “cop’s cop” and as having an “infectious smile.”

Stawinski said the incident “wasn’t about anything.”

“He opened fire on the first police officer he saw,” Stawinski said.

Colson was an undercover narcotics officer who worked in high-risk situations, Stawinski said.

“When things began to turn, he immediately stepped into action,” Stawinski said of Colson’s response Sunday.

“He was always there for his fellow brothers and sisters,” said Prince George’s Fraternal Order of Police President John Teletchea.

Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks called the incident “another horrific act of evil.” “We have another mother tonight without her son,” Alsobrooks said.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) ordered flags to fly at half-staff. “The First Lady and I send our sincere prayers to the family and loved ones of Officer Colson, who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to his fellow citizens and community,” Hogan said in a statement. “It is my hope that his proud legacy of commitment and passion for law enforcement and serving others will provide some comfort in the difficult days that lie ahead.”

Police cars and barricades continued to block the area around the police headquarters — also connected to the district station — late into the evening.

Sunday’s killing came 12 days after the funeral for Prince William County officer Ashley Guindon, who was shot and killed there on her first day on duty. Guindon was killed when she and two fellow officers were sent to a home in the Woodbridge area of the county to answer a call about a domestic dispute.

Ronald Williams Hamilton, 32, an Army staff sergeant, allegedly opened fire on Guindon and the two other officers Feb. 27 as they approached the front door to his and wife’s home.

During his two decades as a high school football coach, LaRose saw hundreds of kids come through, but he said few were like Jacai Colson.

“He was that kid that every once in a while you hope you have,” LaRose said. “That kid who is a leader. There’s an old saying that when you’re a leader and you turn around, everyone is following you. He had that way of being a leader.”

Growing up around police inculcated him, LaRose said, with a sense of discipline. Colson was so mature, LaRose said, that he decided to start him at quarterback when he was still a sophomore. Most students, he said, would have wilted under the pressure of playing with older students.

But not Colson.

“He walked into the huddle of older kids and led them to a successful season,” LaRose said. He said he wasn’t surprised when he learned he had become a police officer. He said he “felt safer” knowing Colson had decided to serve.

“We lost a great one today,” he said.

In Cheverly, police cruisers lined the entrance to Prince George’s Hospital Center on Sunday night. Hundreds of officers stood vigil where colleagues took Colson after the shooting. They held hands, some with tears in their eyes as they reflected on the loss of one of their own.

Then, at around 10 p.m., Colson’s body – draped in an American flag – was loaded into an ambulance to be taken to the medical examiner in Baltimore. As the ambulance departed, escorted by cruisers flashing blue lights, officers lined up in the wet streets and saluted.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...7b7_story.html