Mere hours after a mass shooting at an office complex in Middleton, Wis., and another one in Masontown, Penn., law enforcement officials confirm that three people are dead and three are wounded after a shooting by a woman at a Rite Aid facility near Aberdeen, Md., a village about two hours northeast of Washington, D.C.
According to a source who spoke to CNN, the alleged shooter was a disgruntled employee of the drugstore chain who shot herself in the head in an apparent suicide attempt but was unsuccessful and shot herself again. She is now in custody and in critical condition at a local hospital.
The woman, who is not yet identified, reportedly used a single handgun.
CNN reports that Henderson County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the scene at 9:09 a.m. ET. They were on the scene in five minutes and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent agents from Baltimore, about 30 miles northeast of the area. The FBI’s Baltimore office is also assisting.
“We are closely monitoring the horrific shooting,” Gov. Larry Hogan tweeted. “Our prayers are with all those impacted, including our first responders. The state stands ready to offer any support.”
Former NAACP head, Ben Jealous, who is running for governor, also released a statement:
As we learn more about the shooting in Aberdeen this morning, my heart is with those who were killed and their families, the victims who are injured, and the first responders on the scene. Thank you to our law enforcement and emergency health professionals at local hospitals who are responding to this tragic shooting and working to keep the community as safe as possible.
The Washington Post reports that the area is not unfamiliar with mass shooting incidents. It reports that in October 2017, three people were killed and two others wounded in a shooting at another business park in the same area, and that in 2016, two sheriff deputies were shot and killed at a Panera restaurant in Harford County.
UPDATED: Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018, 10:15 p.m. EST: The shooter who killed three and wounded three others at a Rite Aid distribution center outside of Aberdeen, Md., has been identified as Snochia Moseley, a 26-year-old masculine of center appearing person from Baltimore County.
CNN reports that Moseley shot people outside the building and on the warehouse floor. She died at a nearby hospital after shooting herself in the head.
A law enforcement official told the outlet that Moseley was a temporary security guard at the Rite Aid support facility where the shooting occurred, and Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler told reporters that she used a 9 mm Glock pistol, which she purchased legally.
There is still no confirmed motive for the shooting.
The New York Post reports that Moseley is now in the small minority of female mass shooters, with only around 4 percent being women.
Live Science notes that female mass shooters are so rare, they haven’t been studied. The report also found that men are more prone to violence because of a combination of male biology and socialization, and this is true in almost every culture around the world.