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SALISBURY, Md. — Maryland State Police are investigating a deadly trooper-involved shooting in Salisbury on Wednesday.
Police were dispatched to the 27000-block of Sunbury Court for a report of an armed man threatening to commit suicide.
Arriving troopers found 59-year-old Rick Howell in the back yard armed with a handgun.
Officials say troopers repeatedly ordered Howell to drop the weapon, while also telling him that "he did not have to do this."
At some point three troopers fired their weapons, killing Howell.
Two family members at the home told investigators that Howell had been threatening suicide before police were called.
Luckily no one else was hurt in the incident.
Members of the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit are conducting a criminal investigation, as is procedure in a trooper-involved shooting. Investigators are currently obtaining a search warrant for the residence and will be processing the scene throughout the afternoon with the assistance of State Police crime scene technicians.
The names of the troopers involved haven't been released.
