3 dead, 1 wounded, in Waldorf shooting
Father killed daughters, shot wife before turning gun on himself, police say
A 4-year-old girl and her teenage sister were shot and killed by their father inside their Waldorf home Thursday night, police say. The man also shot his wife, who remains in critical condition in the hospital.
Carlton Goodwin, 37, was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, a gun next to him, inside the home at 3305 Westdale Court by police officers who entered the
house after neighbors reported hearing multiple gunshots, according to a Charles County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. Laila Goodwin, 4, was found dead in a bedroom upstairs. Officers also discovered Lashelle Goodwin, 17, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds inside an upstairs bathroom. She died later that night after she was airlifted to a hospital. The mother was also shot and flown to the hospital, where she remains in critical but stable condition, as of press time Tuesday morning.
Police believe Carlton Goodwin shot his wife and two daughters before turning the gun on himself but are continuing to investigate what led to the shooting.
Det. J. Elliot is leading the investigation.
Lashelle Goodwin was a junior at Thomas Stone High School; Principal Chrystel Benson said Friday that students and staff are still grappling with her death.
Benson said teachers and staff were made aware of Lashelle’s death before the start of school. During the first period, Lashelle’s friends were taken aside and told of the news before a general announcement was made to the school.
“It was devastating news to the whole Thomas Stone community,” Benson said.
Benson said grief counselors were made available to students and staff throughout the day.
“We had central office staff as well as Thomas Stone staff to support all of our students,” Benson said. “We had our pupil personnel worker as well as our high school resources teacher follow Lashelle’s schedule and go to each one of Lashelle’s classes at the time Lashelle would be there and to facilitate discussions about the fond memories the students had of Lashelle.”
Shanif Pearl, junior class vice principal of Thomas Stone High School, said Lashelle Goodwin was a smart, funny, artistic young woman who had a bright future ahead of her.
“Lashelle was an awesome student,” Pearl said. “She was academically strong, she was on the honor roll, she was on our school’s volleyball team, she was a member of our ‘It’s Academic’ team. She had dreams of being a graphic artist. You could always find her drawing something.”
Pearl said her best memory of Lashelle was her humor.
“She would always come up to me in the hall and tell me these jokes,” she said. “It was just her way of spreading a little sunshine ever y day.”