UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — A man who shot and killed a Prince George’s County firefighter and wounded another has been released from custody but could eventually face charges.
On Friday, 37-year-old firefighter John Ulmschneider was killed and 19-year-old Morningside volunteer firefighter Kevin Swain was wounded as they forced their way into a Temple Hills, Maryland home. They intended to deliver emergency medical care to the man.
The man’s brother, who had summoned the firefighters, was outside the house with them and also was shot. Two other firefighters were injured.
The man’s family said the shooting was a tragic mistake.
Prosecutors say it’s early in the investigation and the goal is to determine whether the shooter’s actions were reasonable.
“What we have to assess is what’s reasonable, given what his belief was about whether danger existed or not,” said Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks.
“Once we have all of the facts in the case, we’ll have a better opportunity to assess it — to understand what he believed at the time that this occurred and whether his belief was reasonable in the mind of an ordinary person.”
Police say the weapon used was a handgun. Still, a number of questions remain unanswered, and detectives have yet to interview Swain and the man’s brother.
“Circumstantially how this incident played out inside the home,” said Prince George’s County Police Chief Hank Stawinski. “Who was in what position, what was the position of the door, how many shots were fired to a certainty. Those are the kind of questions that we have to have answers to.”
It’s not unusual for firefighters to force their way into homes in emergencies, when there is no response from inside.
“From the preliminary information I’ve looked at, our folks did everything they were trained to do,” said Prince George’s County Fire Chief Marc Bashoor.
“They did exactly what they were trained to do. They did all of the right things.”
Bashoor said the 911 call to the fire department indicated that the man was potentially suffering from a diabetic crisis.
Alsobrooks promises a thorough investigation, which she says is likely to be brought to a grand jury.
Swain, who suffered four gunshot wounds, is improving, but Bashoor said “he has a long road ahead.” Bashoor planned an afternoon meeting with Ulmschneider’s family.
The visitation for Ulmschneider is scheduled for Tuesday evening at St John’s Parish in Hollywood, Maryland. The funeral mass is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at St. John’s with a private family burial to follow.
Two other firefighters were also hurt in Friday’s incident and are being called heroes for their actions when the gunfire erupted.
Two firefighters — a man and a woman — from the Morningside Volunteer Fire Department, who have not yet been publicly named, dragged Swain to safety.
“They were in the process of dragging one of our folks back and in that process they were injured, in the process of dragging and falling and pulling back,” Bashoor said.
Both Bashoor and Stawinski point out that firefighters aren’t trained to confront gunfire.
“For those firefighters and EMT’s and paramedics to face gunfire and be able to think about rescuing their own and pulling their own … it’s nothing short of valiant,” Bashoor said.
Stawinski agrees.
“What they did is nothing short of heroic,” Stawinski added. “The steps that they took quickly and then not just steps but relay information to the responding officers so that we could make an apprehension of this individual, I can’t say enough about the good work that they did on that day.”
The woman firefighter suffered a dislocated jaw. Both were treated and released following Friday’s shooting.
