Two deputies shot to death in Maryland
Suspect slain; may have been targeting uniformed officer
A gunman fatally shoots a sheriff’s deputy inside a crowded restaurant and kills another in a shootout nearby.
ABINGDON, Md. — A gunman fatally shot a sheriff’s deputy inside a crowded restaurant at lunchtime Wednesday and killed another deputy in a shootout nearby, authorities and witnesses said.
The suspect was killed in the shootout not far from the shopping center where the restaurant was situated, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said. Remarkably, no bystanders were hurt.
Police haven’t released a motive for the shooting, but the sheriff said he believed the first deputy who approached the gunman was shot because he was wearing a uniform. The shooter, 67-yearold David Brian Evans, had warrants out for his arrest in Harford County and Orange County, Fla., where hewas accused of assaulting a police officer.
The slain officers were de- scribed as a 30-year veteran and a 16-year veteran. The sheriff said he had met with both of their families but was withholding their names because more relatives needed to be notified.
“This is a tragic day for the H ar ford County Sheriff’s Office ,” Gahler said, his eyes moist with tears.
“They were two outstanding deputies who served the citizens of this community faithfully.”
Republican Gov. Larry Hogan ordered flags to be flown at halfstaff to honor the officers.
The initial shooting took place inside a Panera restaurant in Abingdon, which is about 20 miles northeast of Baltimore.
Sophia Faulkner, 15, said she and her mother were get- ting lunch and almost sat right next to the gunman. Instead, they chose a booth about 10 feet away because the man appeared “sketchy” and disheveled. He was sitting in the back of the restaurant and hadn’t ordered any food, Faulkner said.
A sheriff’s deputy was called to the restaurant just before noon, presumably because “someone knew who he was,” Gahler said.
The deputy tried to talk to the man, whowas apparently known to officers and workers at the restaurant. The deputy sat down, asked how he was doing, and the man shot him in the head.
“I saw him fall back out of his chair, and the blood started coming out,” Faulkner said. “I didn’t know how to process it. Mymom said, ‘What’s going on?’ and I said, ‘Get down. Someone just got shot.’”
The shooter fled and “everyone-started screaming,” Faulkner said. Children at the restaurant — out of school because of snowfall — were running around.
“I was freaking out so much, and everybody was running to one side of the store. Families were huddling together. I didn’t really know what was going on,” she said. “You see this stuff online and in movies and on TV when it happens, but you never think you’re going to go out to lunch one day with your mom and it’s just going to happen.”
Her mother, Lynn Faulkner, a registered nurse, said that she recognized the manand believed he was mentally ill and in need of social services.
“I’ve seen him there frequently, and I’ve seen him at areas of the library,” she said. “He’s definitely in need of mental health care, and he never should have had a gun.”
“He knew what he was doing, because he shot right for the head,” she continued.
“Apparently, the policeman tried to come up to him, ‘Hi, how are you doing,’ — he’s living in this store — and, ‘Can you try to move on?’ or ‘Why are you here today?’ and that’s when he immediately pulled out the gun and shot him.”
The sheriff said investigators believe Evans acted alone and there is no further threat to the community.