An Army staff sergeant assigned to the Pentagon was arrested on murder and other charges in the death of a police officer and another person, authorities said today.
Ronald Hamilton, 32, is being held without bond in the Prince William County Adult Detention Center on charges that include murder of a law enforcement officer. He is accused of shooting and killing Officer Ashley Guindon after she answered a domestic violence call at the Hamilton home Saturday evening.
Two other officers were hospitalised with injuries. The suspect is an active duty Army staff sergeant assigned to the Joint Staff Support Center at the Pentagon, according to Cindy Your, an Army spokeswoman based at Fort Meade, Maryland.
The death of Ashley Guindon was just the latest tragedy to strike the family. Her father, David, committed suicide upon returning from Iraq, where he served with the New Hampshire Air National Guard.
"He came home and took his own life," said Dorothy Guindon, Ashley's grandmother.
She said Ashley was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. The family later moved to Merrimack, New Hampshire.
"This is really a shock to us," Dorothy Guindon said. "Ashley was such a nice person."
Officer Brandon Carpenter at the county's adult detention center says Hamilton is being held without bond at the jail on charges that include murder of a law enforcement officer, first-degree murder charge, two counts of malicious assault and two counts of use of a firearm during a felony.
Hamilton is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow.
Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert told The Associated Press on Sunday morning that the gunman's wife was the victim in the domestic incident. He did not provide her name.
