This post was written by Hatchet Reporter Joseph Konig.
A Prince William County police officer who had previously taken courses at GW was killed Saturday on her first day of duty.
The officer, Ashley Guindon, had been sworn in on Friday afternoon. Less than 30 hours later she was shot and killed after responding to the domestic dispute at 5:30 p.m. in Woodbridge, Va., according to a statement from the Prince William County Police Department.
Guindon, 28, had taken forensic sciences classes at GW as a non-degree student in 2011, University spokeswoman Maralee Csellar said in an email Monday. Guindon was also a member of the Marine Corps reserves.
The suspect, 32-year-old Ronald Hamilton shot and killed his wife Crystal Hamilton before police arrived, according to the release.
Two other officers, Jesse Hempen and David Mckeown, were critically injured during the shooting and remain hospitalized, according to the release. Guindon and the two officers approached the home on Saturday and were “confronted by a suspect, later identified as the accused,” according to the release.
“The accused was armed with a firearm and opened fire,” according to the release.
Officials said the state of Virginia would be pursuing the death penalty against Hamilton, The Washington Post reported. Hamilton has been charged with one count of killing a police officer, one charge of first-degree murder, two counts of “malicious wounding of a police officer,” and two counts of use of a firearm in a felony, according to the release.
Hamilton was an Army staff sergeant and an active-duty member assigned to the Pentagon, The Washington Post reported Sunday. He is being held without bail on multiple charges, including first-degree murder and murder of a law enforcement officer.
An unidentified 11-year-old was found unharmed in the house at the center of the shooting on Saturday, according to the release.
PWCPD Ofc Ashley Guindon has died as a result of her injuries sustained during the incident on Lashmere Ct. We ask for thoughts and prayers.
— Prince William Co PD (@PWCPoliceDept) February 28, 2016
Guindon received her bachelor’s degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2010, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
”The Prince William County Police Department is in deep mourning over the loss of Officer Ashley Guindon,” the statement reads. “We continue to ask for that support as we move forward with making final arrangements to honor Ashley’s sacrifice.”