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 Ashley Guindon, 28, an officer with the Prince William County
Police and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, died of her wounds after
being shot on Saturday evening, a day after she was sworn in as a
member of the force, the department said.
Two other officers, Jesse Hempen, 31, and David McKeown, 33, were
also shot during the altercation and remained hospitalized, Chief
Steve Hudson said during a news conference.
Guindon, Hempen and McKeown were shot at a home they were called to
in Lake Ridge, about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Washington, the
county police department said.
Inside the home, police found a woman shot to death and an
11-year-old, who was unharmed, Hudson said.
Army Sergeant Ronald Hamilton, 32, who is stationed at the Pentagon
just outside Washington, has been charged in the shooting and was
being held without bond, Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney
Paul Ebert said.
Hamilton was expected to be arraigned on Monday, Ebert said.
"It's a sad day for everyone in this room. It's a sad day for law
enforcement," Ebert said during the press conference standing next
to a photo of Guindon.
Guindon was a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in
Daytona Beach, Florida, where she earned a degree in aeronautics.
She also served in the Marine Corps Reserve and has family members
in law enforcement, according to the county.
The officer was a 2005 graduate of Merrimack High School in New
Hampshire, the principal, Kenneth Johnson, said in a statement.
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Guindon interned with the department's forensics services section
while she was in graduate school. She graduated in June 2015 from
the police academy, but resigned during officer field training for
personal reasons. She was hired back about two weeks ago, Hudson
said.
"We were struck by her passion to do this job," Hudson said. "She
clearly had a passion to serve others."
On Sunday, the department posted a photograph of a black ribbon
draped over a squad car in honor of Guindon.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of
God," the post said.
Local media showed a procession of squad cars and officers standing
at attention outside of Inova Fairfax Hospital where Guindon and two
other officers where brought after they were shot.
On Friday, the department sent a message on Twitter that included a
photo of Guindon and a fellow officer after they were sworn in,
saying that she would be working her first shifts over the weekend
and adding "Be safe!"
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; additional reporting by
Chris Michaud; Editing by Richard Borsuk, Paul Tait and Ros Russell)
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