An 85-year-old woman and her husband, 86, were both killed in a shooting at a veterans cemetery in Delaware on Friday morning. Delaware ...
An 85-year-old woman and her husband, 86, were both killed in a shooting at a veterans cemetery in Delaware on Friday morning.
Delaware State Police on Friday night identified the victims as a married couple from Elkton, Maryland.
Police say they later discovered the 29-year-old suspect, named as Sheldon C. Francis, dead from a gunshot wound a few hours later in a wooded area.
It is not known if the gunman knew his victims.
Police say they later discovered the 29-year-old suspect, named as Sheldon C. Francis, pictured, dead from a gunshot wound a few hours later in a wooded area
aw enforcement set up a perimeter and search vehicles at an active shooter situation near the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Bear on Friday
Vehicles are seen stopped at a roadblock, Friday, in Bear, Del. Delaware State Police were responding Friday to a report of shots being fired at Delaware's Veterans Memorial Cemetery, according to a police statement
A police spokesman said Sunday: 'Francis was located deceased at approximately 4:00 p.m., on the date of the incident, in a wooded area located just off of Brennan Blvd., in the development of Brennan Estates, which is adjacent to the grounds of the cemetery.
'This wooded area was where an exchange of gunfire between Francis and officers on scene had taken place at approximately 12:08 p.m. Upon being located Francis was confirmed to have sustained a gunshot wound.
'It is undetermined at this time if the wound was self-inflicted or as a result of the exchange of gunfire.'
The elderly couple were at Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Bear, pictured
Authorities had used a reverse 911 system to warn area residents that there was an active shooter and that they should shelter in place
The elderly couple were at Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Bear on Friday morning when they were shot. Their names have not yet been released.
After a shootout with officers, the suspect fled into nearby woods, said Senior Corporal Heather Pepper, a state police spokeswoman.
Authorities had used a reverse 911 system to warn area residents that there was an active shooter and that they should shelter in place. Some of the residents were evacuated as officers hunted for the suspect.
The wife was pronounced dead at the scene. The husband was taken to the hospital in a critical condition.
. Some of the residents were evacuated as officers hunted for the suspect
The suspect was found dead from a gunshot wound a few hours later in a wooded area
Gov. John Carney said: 'To think of a situation like that on that facility is just heartbreaking...the final resting place of the men and women who served our country.'
It was not immediately clear whether the suspect shot himself or was hit by police in the earlier exchange of gunfire, police said.
No officers were injured in the shooting.
The state-owned cemetery is overseen by the Office of Veterans Services, a division of the Delaware Department of State.
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