John Ulmschneider.(Photo: Prince George's County Fire Department)
WASHINGTON — A man who police say shot and killed a Maryland firefighter was released from custody Saturday, and no charges have been filed.
Prince George's County firefighter John Ulmschneider, 39, was shot and killed Friday night while responding to a call in Temple Hills, a suburb of Washington, authorities said. A second firefighter, 19-year-old Kevin Swain, was also shot and transported to a Baltimore hospital. He was listed in serious condition Saturday night.
Firefighters had gone to the Temple Hills home after the brother of the man who lived there told authorities he was concerned about the man’s safety, said Mark Brady, spokesman for the Prince George’s County 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.
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Firefighter fatally shot, 2nd wounded in Maryland
When the firefighters arrived on the scene, the person inside was unresponsive, so they decided to force entry, police said. As that was happening, the person inside fired several rounds, striking two firefighters and his brother, authorities said. Police said that once officers got into the home, the gunfire stopped.
The brother of the man who lived 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 taken into in custody Friday and was cooperating with police, he said. Police have not released their names.
Authorities said Saturday that they are still working to determine why the 61-year-old man allegedly opened fire. But a county fire spokesman said it may have been a tragic mistake — the man possibly thought that the rescuers were intruders seeking to break into his house, the
Washington Post reported.
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, told the
Post that 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 told the newspaper.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan ordered the state’s flag to be flown at half-staff in Ulmschneider’s memory.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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