Firefighters shot, one killed, as they try to help man

Police attempting to determine reason for shooting.

TEMPLE HILLS, MD. — Police said they were trying Saturday to determine why someone opened fire on firefighters who were responding to a call to check on the health of a man at his home in a Maryland suburb of Washington.

John Ulmschneider, a 13-year veteran of the Prince George’s County Fire Department, died Friday night after he was shot while trying to enter the home, police said.

Volunteer firefighter Kevin Swain, 19, also was shot, and was in serious but stable condition after coming out of surgery Saturday, department officials said.

Firefighters had gone to the Temple Hills home after the brother of the resident told authorities he was concerned about his brother’s safety, said Mark Brady, spokesman for the fire department. The man said his brother had trouble controlling his blood sugar and recently blacked out. He told authorities he was worried because his brother wasn’t answering the phone or the door and his car was parked in the driveway, Brady said.

When the firefighters arrived, the person inside was unresponsive, so they decided to force their way into the house, police said. The person inside then fired several rounds, striking the two firefighters and the brother who had called for them, authorities said.

There were no police officers present when the firefighters decided to enter the home, said Prince George’s County Police Department spokeswoman Julie Parker.

Brady said it is fairly routine for firefighters to force entry to a building when there is a concern about the safety of someone inside and no other way to gain access.

“The firefighter medics made a decision that this was indeed a reason they needed to get into that house as soon as possible. Time could have been of the essence,” he said.

As of Saturday, no charges had been brought against the shooter.

Brady said Ulmschneider was described as a “good old hard-working country boy who loved his job.”

Diana Krieger, whose daughter is married to Ulmschneider’s brother, said he was a “caring man” who had dreamed of being a firefighter since high school.

“He wanted to help others, he loved doing what he was doing, being a paramedic and a firefighter, and I really believe that he was doing God’s work,” Krieger said.

The brother of the man who lives at the home was not seriously injured, Prince George’s County police Chief Henry P. Stawinski III said at a news conference. The person who was inside the home was in custody and cooperating with police, he said. Police have not released the name of the person or the brother.

“The main thing that we ask for the men and women of Prince George’s County are your prayers, your thoughts,” said Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker.