The investigation into the shooting of a Maryland firefighter who died trying to enter a man’s home while answering a 911 call remains under investigation, and officials have not ruled out filing charges, authorities said at a Monday afternoon news conference.
County officials previously said that the preliminary findings of their investigation were that the killing of John Ulmschneider was a tragic mistake.
Prince George’s County prosecutor Angela Alsobrooks said at the news conference that two key witnesses, who were also shot during the incident in Temple Hills on Friday, have not been interviewed yet because they are recovering from their injuries.
Officials said some forensic work has also not been completed in the case. Alsobrooks said officials plan to bring the case before a grand jury in the county.
“This is an active investigation,” Alsobrooks said. “We will apply laws to the facts as we find them.”
Ulmschneider, 34, and Kevin Swain were shot Friday while attempting to break into the Temple Hills-Camp Springs home of a 61-year-old man whose brother called earlier asking medics to check on the man’s welfare, police said. The man who called 911 feared his diabetic brother might have been suffering from a blackout or had a seizure, authorities said.
After knocking on the door several times and loudly announcing themselves as rescuers three times, the medics began breaking into the home because they feared there was a medical emergency inside, county authorities said.
That is when the man inside began shooting, striking Ulmschneider, Swain and the brother who made the 911 call, authorities said.
Authorities said Monday that the weapon the man used to open fire was a handgun. First responders pulled the men who were shot away from the scene, a move that Prince George’s County Fire Chief Marc Bashoor called “valiant” at the news conference.
Swain has been hospitalized since Friday and is expected to make a full recovery.
The man who fired his weapon was released from police custody on Saturday; no charges were filed against him. The Washington Post is not identifying the man because he has not been charged and police did not name him.
Prosecutors are now investigating to determine what, if any, charges are appropriate in the case.
A sister of the man who shot the police officers said in an interview Sunday that her brother fired the weapon in self-defense, thinking someone was trying to break into his home.
Ulmschneider was a husband and the father of a 2-year-old daughter. The firefighters union in Prince George’s County has created a fundraising page to help his family at YouCaring.com.
