TEMPLE HILLS, Md. (AP) — Police worked Saturday to determine why a person opened fire on firefighters who were responding to a call for help at a 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 a home to make a welfare check, 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. Swain, who authorities say was shot four times, is expected to survive.
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 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 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.
There were no police officers present when the firefighters decided to enter the home, Prince George’s County Police Department spokeswoman Julie Parker.
Brady said that’s something firefighters do fairly routinely when there’s a concern about someone’s safety.
