Man Fatally Shot By Police In Emmitsburg Following 2-State Pursuit Identified As Bryan Selmer
EMMITSBURG, Md. (WJZ) -- The Frederick County Sheriff's Office has identified the man shot and killed by police after a multi-state pursuit Monday afternoon as Bryan Selmer.
Officials said Selmer and another man, David Leatherman, led police on a chase that began in Pennsylvania before entering Frederick County, where the duo crashed.
Leatherman, who was wanted for attempted murder in Hanover, Pennsylvania, reportedly stole a family member's white truck, which a police officer spotted in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, and began following.
After crossing into Maryland on U.S. Highway 15, the duo drove as far south as Thurmont before heading back north and eventually crashing near Route 140 in Emmitsville.
During the chase, one of the suspects opened fire on pursuing officers, disabling a squad car from the Cumberland Township Pennsylvania Police Department near Mount Saint Mary's University, officials said. The officer inside was not hurt.
READ MORE: Police Fatally Shoot Man In Emmitsburg, Arrest Another Suspect
After crashing in the median of U.S. Highway 15, they fled on foot. Leatherman ended up in the Emmet Gardens housing area where a Pennsylvania State Trooper and a Frederick County deputy confronted him.
The sheriff's office said shots were fired but did not say who fired first. Neither officer nor Leatherman were hurt, and Leatherman was taken into custody.
Selmer kept running to a nearby Exxon gas station where he took a "shooting stance" toward Frederick County deputies, who fired at him. After shooting him, deputies performed first aid, the sheriff's office said.
Selmer was flown to Shock Trauma in Baltimore where he was pronounced dead.
Multiple rounds hit the gas station, shattering a glass window which injured a store employee. She was not hospitalized.
The sheriff's office said between 40 and 50 units from multiple law enforcement agencies were involved.
Police in Penn Township, Pennsylvania, said Leatherman, 42, had been sought for shooting 32-year-old Joseph Wright in Hanover on October 7. Wright was critically injured in the shooting.
The Penn Township Police Department was not one of the agencies involved in Monday's chase, it said.
Leatherman appeared in court in Frederick County Tuesday where he declined to waive extradition to Pennsylvania, the county state's attorney's office said. He will be held without bond pending a future court date.
In a statement, Frederick County State's Attorney J. Charles Smith, III, said his office, "will be independently evaluating the police use of deadly force to determine whether it was objectively reasonable under a totality of circumstances, the standard articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court."
Once a review is done, a report will be released, he added.
Roads in the area were closed for more than five hours as police investigated the scene. Officers were back at the scene again Tuesday, which the sheriff's office warned could lead to additional delays in the area.
Rich Boyd runs the grocery store across the street and said the shooting has been the talk of the town.
"This store was robbed back in 1977 I believe, but that was the only experience we had with anything this big," he said.
On Monday, Danielle Albaugh, who works near where Selmer was shot, told WJZ she saw him running through a parking lot moments before gunshots rang out.
"It was definitely an unusual day at work today," she said.
Officials are not identifying the officers involved in the incident but said they are on routine administrative leave.
As the sheriff's office continues to investigate, they're asking anyone who may have video of the incident to call their tip line at 301-600-4131.
Stay with WJZ on this developing story. To get breaking news alerts, download our app now!
