Hamilton appeared in court via video conferencing Monday and heard his long list of charges including capital murder and malicious wounding of a police officer.
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“They approached the front door of the home and the subject inside the home, later identified as the accused, opened fire”, according to Sgt. Stephan Hudson, of the Prince Williams County Police Dept.
Police have said Hamilton and his wife argued Saturday, she called 911, he fatally shot her, then fired at arriving officers.
The department posted a photo of Guindon to their Twitter page a day before she was fatally shot, writing: “Welcome Officers Steven Kendall & Ashley Guindon who were sworn in today & begin their shifts this weekend”.
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. The couple’s 11-year-old son was home at the time and is being cared for by relatives.
Police say Officer Ashley Guindon, who was sworn in Friday and started her first shift Saturday, died from her injuries after responding to a “verbal argument” Saturday. Hudson said the officers have a lot of work ahead in their recovery, reports WJLA. “She clearly had a passion for serving others”.
Shootings are generally the leading cause of death each year for officers killed in the line of duty, but a quick succession of shooting deaths in February coupled with recent anti-police rhetoric has heightened some law enforcement officials concern over deaths this year.
She later attended the Joint Mortuary Affairs Center in Fort Lee, Virginia, where she was honored for achieving the highest GPA in her class. Hoping to become a crime-scene investigator, she interned with the Prince William County Police Department’s Forensic Services Bureau. Her uncle, Thomas Guindon, is a detective with the West Springfield Police Department.
‘He came home and took his own life, ‘ said Dorothy Guindon, Ashley’s grandmother. The family later moved to Merrimack, New Hampshire.
Hamilton was scheduled to be arraigned this morning. It was her first day on patrol after rejoining the department.
All three officers were flown by helicopter to Inova Fairfax Hospital. Colunga didn’t know what specifically sparked the fight that escalated toward Crystal and Guindon’s death, but the woman never expressed any fears about her husband harming her.
“It’s the worst nightmare that could happen to any police officer and her family”, said Bonner, who is a former Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent.
The boy heard the shots but did not see them, Howard told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “She’s was one of those positive people”.
“For us, the story is intensely local, and far more personal”, Johnson said over the school’s intercom, before asking students and staff to join him in a moment of silence.
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Heidi Ayala, who served with Guidon in 2007, said she just spoke to her Thursday.
