Vicosa, Bynum, 2 children dead after Pa. police pursuit, crash near Smithsburg, Md.

RINGGOLD, Md. — The four people found shot inside a car that crashed off Ringgold Pike on Thursday in an apparent murder-suicide included two people wanted in connection with the kidnapping of two girls, the Maryland State Police announced late Thursday night.

Police identified Robert Vicosa, 41, a former Baltimore police officer, and Tia Bynum, a Baltimore County police officer suspended from the department earlier this week, as the adults in the vehicle. The two children found in the car's backseat are believed to be Vicosa's daughters, according to a state police news release.

Earlier Thursday night, State Police spokeswoman Elena Russo had said police believed they knew who the four in the car were based on the description of the vehicle involved in a short Pennsylvania pursuit and other incidents in Maryland and Pennsylvania. But she had stopped short of confirming they were Vicosa, the two daughters he kidnapped earlier this week in Pennsylvania, and Bynum.

Russo had said next of kin had to be notified before the deceased's identities were released. She also reiterated the complex nature of the investigation.

Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt issued a statement Friday on Twitter.

"The tragedy that occurred yesterday was beyond horrific," she wrote. "This was a selfish and senseless act of violence that has shaken us to our very core…

While residents in Maryland and Pennsylvania, including our very own law enforcement community, struggle to understand why, we offer our deepest condolences to the families, friends, and coworkers of those directly affected by this atrocity…" she said.

Her department will continue to probthe circumstances surrounding the kidnapping in Baltimore County while supporting the investigations being done by authorities in neighboring jurisdictions, she wrote.

Authorities had been searching for Vicosa, who had kidnapped his daughters, 7-year-old Giana Vicosa and 6-year-old Aaminah. York Area Regional Police later filed charges against Bynum for false imprisonment. She was suspended by the Baltimore County Police sometime after Tuesday afternoon, according to the department's public affairs office.

The Vicosa case: Second police officer charged in abduction of two York County girls

A frantic search: Police, mother begged former Baltimore County police officer to release daughters safely

Timeline: Police say missing sisters' kidnapping began with violent assault of their mom

At the scene of the crash shortly after Russo spoke Thursday night, Maj. Scott Keyser with the Hagerstown barrack reiterated the complexity of the incident.

“I know there’s probably some fear or uncertainty out in the community,” Keyser said. "I can tell you we feel very confident that fear and concern should be eased now."

Pennsylvania State Police alerted Maryland State Police shortly before 2:30 p.m. Thursday that they found a car matching the description of a suspect's car involved in felonies including child abduction and carjacking, according to a Maryland State Police news release issued late Thursday night. Pennsylvania State Police notified Maryland authorities the gray Ford Edge was heading south of Waynesboro towards the Maryland state line.

Pennsylvania police, with emergency equipment activated, tried to start a traffic stop on the car, the release states. Shortly afterward, the car veered off Md. 418, also known as Ringgold Pike, and hit a culvert before coming to a stop in a grassy area. Maryland State Police arrived within seconds of the car stopping.

The car crashed near Mace Energy Supply, Russo said in a earlier interview.

Mace is at 23327 Ringgold Pike between Misty Meadow Road and Rinehart Road, almost a mile south of the Pennsylvania state line. That area is north of the Misty Meadow Farm Creamery.

Russo said in a phone interview that there was no physical contact between law enforcement vehicles and the suspect's car when the latter crashed.

Police immediately surrounded the car, trying to contact the suspects to no avail, the release states.

About 15 minutes later, Maryland's Special Tactical Assault Team Element, a swat team, and the crisis negotiation team arrived to help, with the negotiation team making multiple verbal requests for the occupants to exit the car, the release states.

With no response, and after several more efforts to contact the occupants, the swat team tried to enter the car.

There was limited visibility because of the car's tinted windows and interior fogging so police used two 40 mm sponge rounds to break the front passenger side window, knowing no one was sitting in that seat, the release states. At that point, troopers could see the driver was incapacitated with apparent gunshot wounds.

Bynum, in the driver's seat, and Vicosa and one of the children in the backseat were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

All four people in the car had apparent gunshot wounds, police said.

The second child in the backseat was flown to Meritus Medical Center near Hagerstown, where the child was pronounced dead.

State police did not have a motive for the shooting, the release states. An assault rifle and other firearms were found in the car.

As of 7:15 p.m., state police crews were still at the Ringgold scene, working under tents and tarps with lights on.

Ringgold Pike was reopened by 9:40 p.m., a Washington County 911 supervisor said Friday morning.

“It’s a very complex investigation with a lot of resources, a lot of avenues. So it’s one of those things. It’s just going to take time,” Keyser said.

“We had a lot of resources put into this. We would have hoped for a better outcome,” he said.

David Herbst, co-owner of Misty Meadow Farm, said he heard there might be someone armed in the area. Some of the traffic from the incident, which he estimated was about a mile away, was being diverted by the farm, he said.

The farm doors are locked, as they usually are, but the farm's dairy store was still receiving walk-up customers, he said.

What are neighbors saying?

Jay Thompson, who lives on Barkdoll Road, said he initially thought there was a big crash on Ringgold Pike when he first saw all the emergency vehicles.

“It’s crazy,” he told a USA Today Network reporter. “I mean it looked like Christmas, there were so many lights.

"Man, it’s pretty big news for this sleepy little town,” he said.

Denise Henry, who lives on Smithsburg Pike, was walking a dog on Barkdoll Road on Thursday afternoon. She said she was surprised by the turn of events, noting she had been picking up bits and pieces on TV about the Vicosa case.

Henry said she was on her way to nearby Leitersburg when the crash happened, but saw numerous police vehicles heading in the opposite direction.

Outside his home on Barkdoll Road, Robert Hahn said the news of the kidnapping illustrates how "fragile" life is.

He had been out bowling earlier in the afternoon and returned home to see police activity at the bottom of the hill his road sits on.

At first he thought it might be connected to a police training exercise he said he saw nearby earlier in the day. After learning about what was really going on, he and his daughter became concerned about what students — including his grandson — on the school bus that would soon pass through might see.

His daughter called her son's elementary school to ask that the bus avoid the area, he said. His daughter was not available to talk to a reporter.

Waynesboro Area School District reported that Pennsylvania State Police advised the schools to go into lockdown because of the unrelated incident, according to the district's website. The district said later that the lockdown had been lifted and to expect a delay in students being transported home.

No Washington County Public Schools were officially locked down, according to a school system spokeswoman.

Greg and Kim Smith drove over near the scene from their home in Smithsburg.

This is a quiet, family-oriented area, Kim said while looking out at the scene from Barkdoll Road.

"Nothing like this ever happens in this area."

"When something like this happens, it comes from somewhere else," Greg added.

The Smiths came to see the aftermath after Greg and his daughter encountered police activity while driving through the area earlier. Their daughter has a learner's permit and was practicing being behind the wheel.

He described "30 to 40" police vehicles driving past them. What appeared to be an armored vehicle pulled up and a number of uniformed people jumped out, then gathered to talk, Greg said.

Weather in Ringgold stormy

A cold front with rain moved through the Ringgold area around 5 p.m. Thursday, and peak gusts were expected to hit around 30 mph to 40 mph, National Weather Service meteorologist Dan Hofmann said.

It was expected to remain breezy after that, with the temperature dropping quickly from what had been a warm day to the 40s by 10 or 11 p.m., Hofmann said.

Asked about the weather, Keyser said, “We’re good at this.” MSP has the tools and resources to do the job, despite the mess, he said.

About 4:40 p.m., a USA Today Network reporter said a Maryland State Police forensic sciences van arrived, along with a pickup marked "Crash Team."

Earlier, a reporter said Maryland and Pennsylvania state police helicopters were hovering over the area.

Two ground ambulances have driven away, he said, both with lights on but no sirens and not very quickly.

USA Today Network reporters Julie E. Greene, Mike Lewis, Teresa Boeckel, Amber South and Dave McMillion contributed.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: 4 dead near Smithsburg include Vicosa, Bynum from York, Baltimore