TEMPLE HILLS, Md. – Two firefighters were critically injured Friday night when they were shot while making a welfare check in a Maryland suburb of Washington, officials said.
Firefighters and police had gone to the Temple Hills home after being called by a person concerned the individual inside might be suffering from a medical condition, Prince George's County police Chief Henry P. Stawinski III said at a news conference.
When they arrived on the scene, the person inside was unresponsive, so they decided to force entry, he said. As that was happening, the person inside fired several rounds, striking two firefighters and the person who had initially made the call for a welfare check.
Stawinski said that once officers got into the home, the gunfire stopped. He said no officers fired weapons.
Deputy Fire Chief Benjamin Barksdale said he couldn't give the specific conditions of the firefighters, but they were both critically injured, and one was flown to a trauma center.
The civilian was not seriously injured, according to the police chief.
The person who was inside the home was in custody and cooperating with police, Stawinski said.
None of the identities of the people involved was available Friday night.
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