Two dead, one critical in Md. church shooting

A man and a woman were killed and another woman seriously injured in a possible double-shooting and suicide at a church in Maryland late on Thursday.

A custodian at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Ellicott City, Md., found two women in the church office who appeared to have been shot, police said.

One woman was pronounced dead at the scene, the other was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Police found a man dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in the nearby woods, police said. A gun was found near the body.

Read the original report at NBC Washington

The women's and man's identities have not been confirmed.

The Baltimore Sun reported that police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said it was too early in the investigation to speculate about a connection between the women and the man.

It quoted Steve Fairall, who lives on Main Street in Ellicott City, saying he often rides his bike in the neighborhood around the church.

"It's pretty upper-middle-class. It's a nice neighborhood, a lot of families," he reportedly said.

When he heard about the shootings, he "just thought it was somebody targeted. I didn't think it was any crazy gunmen running around,” the newspaper said.

Msnbc.com's Alastair Jamieson contributed to this report.

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