A man living in Maryland’s Montgomery County, shot and killed his wife and an 18-year-old neighbor in Carroll County, before returning to his home and killing himself, according to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.
Joseph Zujkowski, 35, who lived in Gaithersburg, traveled to 7910 Bennett Branch Road in Mount Airy on Thursday, and shot and killed his wife Heather Zujkowski, 36, with a rifle, according to the sheriff’s office. Heather lived at the Mount Airy home with her three children. The children who are between the ages of 5 and 12 were not harmed in the shootings, according to a news release.
The sheriff’s office said the Zujkowskis were separated, and a protective order naming Joseph as the defendant, expired in January.
After shooting his wife, Joseph then shot Noah Homayouni, a student at South Carroll High School, who was outside at the time of the shooting and lived next door to Heather, the release said.
Homayouni ran to the yard of a nearby home, the sheriff’s office said.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office was called to Bennett Branch Road for reports of shots fired around 2:50 p.m. on Thursday where they found Homayouni suffering from gunshot wounds. They then responded to the original address for the call where they discovered Heather Zujkowski.
Homayouni was transported to the Mount Airy carnival grounds, where he was to be transported by helicopter for further care but died before air transport.
A Carroll County Sheriff’s Office deputy then found the cell phone number for Joseph Zujkowski and was able to make contact with him over the phone. He was returning to his home in Gaithersburg, according to the release.
Montgomery County police responded to the home. Once they arrived, police found the suspect had shot himself, according to the release. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
Anyone with information about the suspect or this incident is asked to contact Detective Owens at aowens@carrollcountymd.gov, or 410-386-2571.
