Police search for man suspected of shooting six people – three fatally – in Maryland, Delaware
UPDATE: Suspect captured and arrested
Harford County MD Oct 19 2017 A multi-state manhunt was continuing Wednesday night for a man suspected in a workplace shooting in Harford County that killed three people and critically injured two others, and who is believed to have later shot another person in Delaware.
State and federal authorities are searching for Radee L. Prince, 37, who they believe shot five people about 9 a.m. Wednesday at a kitchen countertop company in an Edgewood business park where he had worked for the past four months. The five victims were all employees of the business, Advanced Granite Solutions.
There’s an individual out there on the loose who’s committed one of the most heinous acts in our county; we certainly consider him armed and dangerous,” said Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler.
Gahler called the shooting “a targeted attack, limited to that business.”
Later in the day, however, police in Wilmington, Del., said Prince was also being sought in connection with a shooting that occurred around 10:45 a.m. at a used car dealership there.
A single victim was shot in the head, but is expected to survive, Wilmington Police Chief Robert Tracy said. He said the victim was shot twice, but was alert and identified Prince as his attacker.
Tracy said Prince had a prior history with the shooting victim, and that the two men had a “beef.”
“Every one of the victims that this individual shot, the victim and the attacker knew each other,” Tracy said at a news conference. “This is targeted. This individual knew the people he wanted to go shoot. This was not a random act of violence.”
Prince is believed to be traveling in a black 2008 GMC Acadia with Delaware tags: PC64273. Authorities said he is considered armed and dangerous, and urged anyone who believes they see him to use “extreme caution.”
The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were both involved in the search and Prince’s information was put on highway billboards from Philadelphia to Washington DC and from Atlantic City, N.J. to Salisbury.
Tracy said he believed the gun used in the shooting in his city was the same weapon that was used in the Edgewood shooting. The ATF declined to discuss the firearm used, but said it had command staff, two violent crime units, and canines that can sniff out spent shell casings on the case.
Gahler said he would tell Prince to “consider what he’s already done and put an end to it and turn himself in.”
Police did not identify those wounded or deceased in either shooting. The two wounded victims from the Edgewood shooting were listed in critical condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center as of Wednesday evening, a hospital spokeswoman said.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Barak Caba, the owner of Advanced Granite Solutions, said Prince worked as a machine operator.
The company said in a statement: “Words cannot express our feelings. We mourn the loss of our friends. … May God give our friends eternal rest and the families the strength to bear the great pain.”
Earlier this year, according to a peace order complaint filed in Harford County, Prince had been fired from a job at another granite company after allegedly attacking a co-worker. Another co-worker applied for the peace order, writing that though Prince had not attacked him personally, “I do not want to wait until he will. … He can also do it to me.”
Authorities gave a Delaware address for Prince, who attended Newark High School and had 42 arrests with 15 felony convictions and four misdemeanor convictions in the state, according to police. A residence in Cecil County was searched as part of the investigation, Gahler said.
Gahler said the first call came into law enforcement at 8:58 a.m. to the business park located in the 2100 block of Emmorton Park Drive, and deputies arrived four minutes later. The Advanced Granite website says the business’ showroom opens at 8 a.m. on weekdays.
Kevin Doyle, 47, works as a maintenance technician for Thornhill Properties and was on a job nearby. He was outside getting more tools from his vehicle when he saw people running from the shooting scene.
“Three guys came running. They were terrified,” Doyle said. “You could tell this was something big. They were in shock. One of them was crying, ‘They’re shot in the head, they’re shot in the head.’
“I started to go down there to see if I could help, and one of them said, ‘Don’t go down there, there’s shooting.’”
Gahler said there were “quite a few more than” five people at Advanced Granite at the time of the shooting, and witnesses are being interviewed.
“We do not believe that anybody else was involved in this incident,” Gahler said.
According to Advanced Granite Solution’s website, the company designs, manufactures and installs granite, marble and stone countertops and other surfaces in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
A modified lockdown was put in place and later lifted for schools in the Edgewood area as a precaution, district officials said.
Emmorton Business Park is just south of the Interstate 95 interchange with Route 24, parts of it visible from the highway.
Doyle said he called 911 and saw the first police officer arrive at the entrance to the industrial park on Edgewood Road.
Jason Bradfield, 33, a sales representative at the nearby Classic Team Sports store, said he and four other employees were preparing for the day when they noticed what looked like SWAT officers “walking by with guns drawn” outside.
The sight made him nervous and reassured, he said. “We were not really sure what they were doing.”
Soon after, someone at the neighboring suite told him and his co-workers that there was a shooter in the small business park, Bradfield said.
“We locked the doors and we’re basically on lockdown now,” he said at the time.
Bradfield said Classic Team Sports is toward the back of the small business park, and most of the police activity appeared to be focused toward the front of the park. There was no traffic coming or going down the street, he said.
“Crazy world we live in. It’s hard to fathom. It’s pretty close to home,” Bradfield said of the shooting. “You would never think that it would happen. It’s not something you would think would happen so close.”
Prince had several prior arrests and run-ins with law enforcement, court records show.
Prince pleaded guilty to 15 counts of third-degree burglary in Delaware in 2003, among the more than 40 arrests that Tracy, the Wilmington chief, said were on his record. He was also charged with several handgun violations in Cecil County in March 2015, but those charges were later dropped.
Tracy declined to discuss the nature of the crimes Prince was accused of in the other arrests. He said law enforcement officials are “turning over every stone” to get Prince into custody.
“We’re going to catch him and we’re going to be sure we bring him to justice,” Tracy said. “This is a dangerous individual. This person shot six people in one day. This is a person with no conscience.”
On Wednesday, there was a heavy police presence in the Elkton neighborhood where Prince had a listed address. Police tape blocked off street as armed officers patrolled nearby areas.
Neighbors said Prince was quiet and largely kept to himself.
Gov. Larry Hogan addressed the Harford shooting during a Board of Public Works meeting, after briefly leaving to get an update on the unfolding search for the shooter.
“The state is providing every possible assistance to the local government. My thoughts and prayers are with the people, the families of those who have lost their lives and been injured,” Hogan said, adding that “I think everything is under control at this point.”
In a statement, Harford County Executive Barry Glassman said: “Our sympathy and prayers are with the families of the lost and the injured employees in today’s horrible shooting. Harford’s allied emergency services are assisting the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and the impacted families. In addition, my administration’s Department of Emergency Services is assisting our local, state and federal partners in apprehending the suspect.”
AP Wire
