Army Staff Sergeant Ronald Hamilton Accused of Killing Wife And Female Police Officer, Shoots Two Others [Update]
Army Staff Sergeant Ronald Hamilton has been charged with the murder of his wife and a young female police officer who once served as a Marine.
ABC 7 reports that Hamilton, 32, is currently being held without bond at Prince William County Adult Detention Center in Virginia on two counts of murder, including the murder of a police officer Ashley Guindon. Heavy reports that he could face the death penalty for killing the officer and seriously injuring two more officers, who are expected to fully recover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkjd_RyXWLY
Listen Live now: press conference updating investigation of fatal shooting in Woodbridge https://t.co/S4vSyq2Dbm pic.twitter.com/2IpzQ3d9GC
— WTOP (@WTOP) February 28, 2016
Rookie police officer killed first day on job; 2 others injuredhttps://t.co/0uvwLTe7J7
— ABC 33/40 News (@abc3340) February 28, 2016
Police were called to the home of Ronald Hamilton by his wife, Crystal Hamilton, around 5:30 p.m. Saturday evening, according to the Chicago Tribune. She and her husband had been arguing verbally through the afternoon, and she had apparently become frightened of him. By the time Prince William Country Police Department officers arrived at the upscale subdivision in Woodbridge, Virginia, Crystal had already been shot to death, and the three officers who entered the home were attacked and shot as they arrived. Ashley Guindon was fatally injured and died at the hospital. Two other officers were also hospitalized with serious gunshot injuries. Two guns were found on the scene: a 45 caliber pistol and a long gun reported to be an AK 47.
The shooting took neighbors in the lovely suburban Lake Ridge community by surprise. The curving street graced with $500,000 homes and upper-middle-class residents is not a common site of violence. In fact, Woodbridge, though only 30 miles from our nation’s capital, is a very quiet place, having seen little violence in its history. Neighbors were frightened by gunshots and the sight of armed police officers in their previously peaceful neighborhood.
Hamilton was arrested by other officers without injury and is awaiting arraignment this morning on multiple charges. No one has mentioned or elaborated on the discrepancy in rank.
Ashley Guindon, 28, was a former Marine who worked for Prince William Country Police Department as in intern in years past. She was sworn in as a police officer on Friday. She was killed on her first shift as an official police officer at the department. Crystal Hamilton died on the scene before officers arrived.
[Photo by Jose Luis Magana/AP]
