Pentagon: Employee Killed Va. Cop On First Day On The Job

WOODBRIDGE, Ma. (WJZ)—A community in Prince William County, Virginia, is mourning tonight after one of their own is killed in the line of duty.

Officer Ashley Guindon, 28, Jesse Hempen, 31 and David McKeown, 33, were all responding to a domestic related incident on Saturday night when a gunmen opened fire.

All three officers were injured in the incident, Officer Guindon later died from her injuries at the hospital.

Officer Hempen and McKeown are expected to survive.

Police identified the gunman as 32-year-old Ronald Hamilton, who was an army staff sergeant assigned to the Pentagon. Officials could not provide any clues about what might have provoked him.

Police believe sometime before officers arrived on Saturday night, Hamilton shot and killed his wife, 29-year-old Crystal Hamilton. Police say an 11-year-old boy was also inside at the home at the time of the shooting. He was not injured.

Guindon, a former Marine Corps reservists who had a master's degree in forensic science, went through training with the Prince William County department last year, but left for personal reasons. Police Chief Stephan Hudson said Guindon was sworn in on Friday and this weekend was her first on the job.

"We were struck by her passion to do this job," Hudson said. "She did share with us when we rehired her that she felt like she wanted to do this job. She couldn't get it out of her blood. She clearly had a passion to serve others in a way that went beyond herself."

Her line of duty death is the forth in the 46-year history of the department, and only the second time a county officer was slain maliciously, officials said.

According to the Associated Press, Guindon's death was not the first tragedy to strike her family. Her father, David, killed himself the day after he returned home from Iraq, where he served with the New Hampshire Air National Guard.

Ashley was his only child. She was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and the family later moved to Merrimack, New Hampshire, her grandmother told the AP.

Hamilton is being held without bond on charges including capital murder, first-degree murder and malicious wounding. His arraignment is scheduled for Monday morning.

In a community filled with $500,000 houses, manicured lawns and two-car garages, neighbors are just stunned this could happen.

"It was very scary, I heard the shots like four to five back-to-back," one neighbor said.

Charnita Allen, who lives down the street from the suspect tells the Associated Press that Hamilton's son and her son were friends.

She said Hamilton was a "nice guy" who was visible in the community.

"It's going to be tough getting over this one," she said.

Chief Hudson spoke on Guindon's bravery, intelligence and compassion Sunday morning.

Corey Steward, the Republican chairman of the county's board of supervisors said, "She was an example of the kind of person that the department hires and the quality of the men and women who work for the department."