Three killed, trooper wounded in Maryland shooting 

Three people were killed while two others sustained injuries—including a state trooper—in a shooting at a machine plant in Smithsburg, Maryland, authorities said.  

According to details, an armed man opened fire at a manufacturing business in rural western Maryland, killing at least three people before the suspect and a state trooper were wounded in a shootout. 

Authorities responded to a reported shooting at Columbia Machine Inc. at around 2:30 pm, the sheriff's office said in a statement on Facebook. 

Upon arrival, they found three people dead and one in critical condition.

The sheriff identified the victims who were killed as Mark Alan Frey (50), Charles Edward Minnick Jr. (31) and Joshua Robert Wallace (30). 

The other victim was Brandon Chase Michael (42), police earlier said he was critically injured.

The suspect was identified as a 23-year-old man from West Virginia who also worked at Columbia Machine, which provides concrete products equipment to customers in over 100 countries. 

The victims and suspect were employees of Columbia Machine. 

The suspect, who fled the scene, was located in a vehicle by Maryland State Police. He exchanged gunfire with a trooper. Both were taken to a hospital with injuries, the sheriff's office said. 

Reportedly, a semiautomatic handgun was recovered from the suspect's vehicle. The motive behind the incident is yet to be ascertained. 

The gunman is in custody at the hospital, where he is still being treated and charges against him are still pending. 

The fatal incident is the 254th mass shooting this year, as the country is on pace to match or surpass last year's total, according to the Gun Violence Archive.