Two Dead, One Critical in Ellicott City Church Shooting

Updated 11:25 p.m.

Two people are dead and one was in “very critical condition,” according to Howard County police, after a shooting Thursday evening at a church in Ellicott City. 

Police in droves swarmed the neighborhood after a custodian at , at 3695 Rogers Ave., called police at about 5:20 p.m. to report finding two women shot inside an office in the building, according to Sherry Llewellyn, Howard County police spokeswoman.

One woman was pronounced dead at the scene; the other was taken to University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma center. “Her condition was described as ‘very critical,’” Llewellyn said.

Neighbors called the incident in a quiet neighborhood shocking.

After police searched the interior of the building, Llewellyn said, they found a man shot dead on a path leading from the church propery through a nearby woods. A gun was found near the man's body.

Police were investigating a connection between the two incidents. There is a “very real possibility that this was a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Llewellyn said.

The man's identity is unknown, she said.

“It’s too early for us" to say what occurred at the church, Llewelyn said.

At about 6:40 p.m., there were 20–30 police vehicles around the church, according to a witness.

An hour later, police cars parked in the middle of Rogers Avenue blocked the road, while dozens of marked and unmarked cars, SUVs and vans lined the streets surrounding St. Peter’s, which were also teeming with media and residents.

Kelly Shaw, a court reporter who lives on the street, said the incident was troubling.

"I can't believe something like this is happening here," she said. "It's so shocking."

The shooting rocked a relatively peaceful community as police came out in force, including a SWAT team and helicopter, according to witnesses.

"This has always been a very quiet town," said Andrea Mandato, a property manager who lives nearby. "Thoughts and prayers go out to the victims."

Sarah Goldsmith, in her 20s, lives across the street and said a friend heard a gunshot coming from the woods.

Goldsmith said that her 5-year-old sister saw the police presence outside, walked into the room and told her, "'There's a real bad man in the neighborhood.'"

Councilwoman Courtney Watson, whose district includes Ellicott City, called the incident “highly unusual” and told The Baltimore Sun she was sure the police department was “working diligently…to find out what happened and why.”

As of 9 p.m., the police presence had thinned to about a half-dozen marked vehicles, and about a dozen residents were milling around, talking to reporters while a few officers directed traffic around the neighborhood.

is a half mile from the Howard County government campus. Still, it is not immune from violence.

Last April, from the church. In , which was nonfatal, a 19-year-old Columbia man was critically injured after suffering multiple gunshot wounds at the Hilltop housing complex on Mount Ida Drive.

In September 2010, there was a , around the corner from St. Peter’s. The Ellicott City couple who died was reportedly in the middle of a custody dispute.

St Peter’s Episcopal Church has had a presence in Howard County for more than 150 years, according to its website. It is described as a diverse parish led by co-rectors The Revs. Kirk A. Kubicek and Dr. Mary-Marguerite Kohn.

With reporting by Patch.com editors Bruce Goldfarb and Brian Hooks.

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Updated at 8:15 p.m.

One woman is dead and another severely wounded in a shooting at a church in Ellicott City Thursday night, Howard County police said. A man's body was found in nearby woods with what police said appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police said a gun was found by his body.

Police responded to St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 3695 Rogers Ave., Ellicott City, around 5:20 p.m. when a church custodian called 911 to report that he discovered two women who appeared to have been shot.

One woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The other was transported to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in critical condition.

Their identities have not been confirmed.

Police said they found a man deceased in the woods near the church and were investigating his possible involvement in the women's shootings. Police said his injury appeared to be self-inflicted.

Councilwoman Courtney Watson, whose district includes Ellicott City, called the incident “highly unusual” and told The Baltimore Sun she was sure the police department was “working diligently…to find out what happened and why.”

This story was updated to include reaction, description of the scene and background information.