More details emerge in Columbia Machine shooting investigation; 20-plus guns recovered

In the days following the mass shooting at Columbia Machine near Smithsburg, more details have emerged about what happened that Thursday afternoon, as well as what police have found in their investigation.

What happened at Mount Aetna and Mapleville roads?

Maryland State Police have released more information about the arrest of a 23-year-old Berkeley County, West Virginia, man accused of killing three people and wounding a fourth at Columbia Machine last week.

The suspect also is accused of getting into a firefight with state police and wounding one of them on Mapleville Road south of the traffic circle at Mount Aetna Road.

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Following charges being filed in which the troopers were named, state police confirmed that the injured trooper was Detective Sgt. Phil Martin, who is assigned to the Criminal Enforcement Division Western Region, according to a state police news release sent Monday. He was treated and released Thursday from Meritus Medical Center near Hagerstown.

State police also confirmed Lt. Vincent Upole, the commander of the Rockville Barrack, and Master Trooper David Thompson, who is assigned to the Hagerstown Barrack, were the other troopers involved in the firefight.

After the suspect left Columbia Machine on Bikle Road, police there relayed his description, as well as that of his burnt orange Mitsubishi Eclipse and noted he was headed south on Mapleville Road, also known as Md. 66.

The troopers were northbound on Mapleville Road and tried to block the road with their patrol vehicles south of the traffic circle. The suspect accelerated the Mitsubishi and crashed into one of the troopers’ vehicles, according to the news release and charging documents.

The suspect fired through his own windshield, according to the news release. At least one of the troopers exchanged gunfire with the suspect when both Martin and the suspect were wounded.

The state police homicide unit is investigating the shooting involving the gunman and the troopers, according to the news release. As per state police protocol, the troopers involved in the shooting are placed on administrative duty pending the completion of the investigation.

Are there more details on the search warrant served on suspect's home?

Berkeley County Sheriff Nathan Harmon said Monday that his office executed the search warrant at the suspect's home.

During a search of the shooting suspect's home the evening of the shooting, deputies found "an array of firearms," Harmon said. Harmon would not go into detail, although he said more than 20 guns were found.

One of the firearms was a long gun that was illegally altered, Harmon said.

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Is there bodycam footage from the incident?

The Herald-Mail filed Public Information Act requests to the Washington County Sheriff's Office and the Maryland State Police, seeking any footage from bodycams or dash cams either agency might have related to the shooting in Smithsburg and the later shootout on Mapleville Road.

Both agencies denied the requests Tuesday.

"The video footage you have requested is part of an investigatory file compiled by the Sheriff, for law enforcement and prosecution purposes involving an open and ongoing criminal investigation," wrote B. Andrew Bright, the sheriff's office attorney, in the response to The Herald-Mail's request. "The Sheriff believes that disclosure of the requested video at this time would interfere with the law enforcement proceeding and would prejudice the ongoing investigation of this matter, and therefore would be contrary to the public interest."

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Elena Russo, director of the state police Office of Media Communications, stated much the same in her reply to the request.

"Unfortunately, there cannot be any release of video footage due to the investigation," she wrote in an email Tuesday.

Herald-Mail staff writers Dave McMillion, Dave Rhodes and Julie E. Greene, and News Director Joseph Deinlein contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Smithsburg shooting suspect shot through own windshield, cops say