Joe Louis Esquivel, 23, of Hedgesville, West Virginia, United States worked at Columbia Machine, a concrete product factory in Smithsburg, Maryland, USA. On June 9, 2022, he went to work at his usual time to work his shift.
At around 2:30 p.m., after working a full shift, Esquivel went to his car, a red Mitsubishi Eclipse, retrieved a semi-automatic handgun and went back to the factory’s break room where he opened fire. He fatally shot Mark Alan Frey, 50, Charles Edward Minnick, Jr., 31, and Joshua Robert Wallace, 30, and wounded Brandon Chase Michael, 42.
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Minutes after fleeing in the Mitsubishi Eclipse, the Maryland State Police stopped Esquivel. During a shootout with two troopers, he struck one of them.
Esquivel was also injured and taken to Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown, Maryland. He is being held by the Washington County Detention Center in Hagerstown without bond.
After the shooting, investigators retrieved more firearms from Esquivel’s house in Hedgesville. His mother told NBC Washington that she has not spoken to him since the shooting and she has no idea what motivated him.
On June 10, 2022, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office announced that Esquivel is facing 25 charges. These are transporting a handgun in vehicle, transporting a loaded handgun in vehicle, carrying a handgun on person, carrying a loaded handgun on person, firearm use in the commission of a crime of violence, attempted first-degree, attempted second-degree murder, two counts of reckless endangerment, two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of first-degree assault and three counts of second-degree assault.
CONAN Daily 