Crime & Safety
Harford County Hostage Situation Ends with Husband Dead, Wife Injured: Sheriff
The Harford County Sheriff's Office said who fired the gunshots was under investigation.
A man is dead and his wife is in critical condition after an overnight standoff with police near Cedar Lane Regional Park, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office.
Luis Arturo Hernandez Jr., 37, of the 9300 block of Perry Hall Boulevard, was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:55 a.m. on Tuesday, the sheriff's office said in a statement.
His wife, Jamie Nicole Campbell, 28, of the 700 block of Hickory Limb Circle in Bel Air, was airlifted to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where she was listed in critical condition, the statement said.
The investigation into who fired the shots was ongoing, Harford County Sheriff's Office spokesman Edward Hopkins said.
According to the sheriff's office, Campbell's mother reported her daughter missing at 8:25 p.m. on Monday when she found that Campbell hadn't arrived places she was supposed to go after running errands in Hunt Valley Monday afternoon, the statement said.
Deputies learned Campbell and Hernandez had a history of domestic violence and had reason to believe the two may be together at the time of her disappearance, police said. Online court records show Campbell had filed for divorce.
At 8:30 p.m., deputies tracked Campbell's leased Chevy Traverse, using the navigation system, to a dirt road off Cedar Lane across the street from Cedar Lane Regional Park outside Bel Air, according to police.
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When deputies approached the vehicle, Hernandez warned the officers away and Campbell said her husband had a gun, the sheriff's office reported.
Tactical teams and crisis negotiators were called in to encourage Hernandez to surrender but were unsuccessful, the statement said. They arrived at approximately 10 p.m. Monday and worked through the night, Hopkins said.
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At 8:55 a.m. on Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Office Victim Services Unit informed personnel at the scene that Hernandez was having his wife call family members to say goodbye, the statement from police said.
To protect Campbell and prevent Hernandez from taking his own life, the Sheriff’s Response Team was given the go-ahead for an emergency assault, police said.An emergency assault means "a threat to the victim and the suspect was imminent and therefore immediate action was required to reduce the risk of injury," Hopkins sad. "[Hernandez] didn’t pose an 'immediate' threat until he indicated he was going to commit suicide. In this case, when the immediate threat was presented, they had to move quickly."
As the team approached Hernandez, shots were fired, according to the statement.
Campbell was shot in the stomach, and Hernandez had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, the statement said.
The Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company treated Campbell until a Maryland State Police helicopter took her to shock trauma, where she was listed in critical condition, police said Tuesday afternoon.
The body of Hernandez was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for autopsy, according to the sheriff's office.
The Harford County Sheriff's Office said it continues to investigate the incident.
Related: Cedar Lane Hostage Situation Ends with Gunshots
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