Alleged gunman in Maryland shooting charged with murder

A 23-year-old man is facing multiple charges of murder and assault, among other charges, for allegedly opening fire at his workplace in Maryland earlier this week.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as Hedgesville, W.Va., resident Joe Louis Esquivel, who faces more than two dozen charges in connection with a shooting at Columbia Machine Inc. on Thursday in Smithsburg, Md., that left three people dead and one person critically injured.

The sheriff’s office said in an earlier press release that Esquivel had been an employee there and had shown up to work his shift that day as usual. 

He allegedly left work on Thursday afternoon to grab a weapon from his car before heading back inside the building, where he allegedly “proceeded to the area of the breakroom” and began “to fire upon employees,” officials said. 

“The suspect then left the scene in his vehicle, a bronze Mitsubishi Eclipse, which was quickly encountered by Maryland State Police in the area of Mapleville Road and Mount Aetna Road. The suspect and the Troopers exchanged gunfire and the suspect and one Trooper were injured. Both survived and were transported for medical treatment,” the sheriff’s office said.

Three people inside the building were found dead. Officials identified them as Hagerstown, Md., residents Mark Alan Frey and Joshua Robert Wallace and Smithsburg resident Charles Edward Minnick. 

Officials did not provide details regarding the identity of the injured victim. The sheriff’s office noted that more firearms were found by authorities at the suspect’s residence following a search warrant. Esquivel is being held without bond at the Washington County Detention Center.

The shooting comes against the backdrop of several high-profile shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., Uvalde, Texas, and Tulsa, Okla.