A firefighter shot while responding to a call for help at a home in a Maryland suburb of Washington has been moved out of intensive care, officials said Sunday.
The Prince George's County fire department said in a statement that 19-year-old volunteer firefighter Kevin Swain continues to show signs of improvement. Swain was shot four times Friday night while trying to enter a home to make a welfare check. Another firefighter, John Ulmschneider, was fatally shot.
On Sunday, the fire department also announced plans for Ulmschneider's funeral. The department said a visitation would be held on Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at St. John's Catholic Parish in Hollywood, Maryland. A funeral is being held at the same place at 1 p.m. Wednesday with a private family burial to follow.
Firefighters including Swain and Ulmschneider had gone to a Temple Hills home Friday evening after the brother of the man who lived there told authorities he was concerned about the man's safety, said Mark Brady, spokesman for the fire department. The man said his brother had trouble controlling his blood sugar and recently blacked out. He told authorities he was worried because his brother wasn't answering the phone or the door and his car was parked in the driveway, Brady said.
When the firefighters arrived on the scene, the person inside was unresponsive, so they decided to force entry, police said. As that was happening, the person inside fired several rounds, striking two firefighters and his brother, authorities said. Police said that once officers got into the home, the gunfire stopped.
The brother of the man who lived at the home was not seriously injured, Prince George's County police Chief Henry Stawinski said at a news conference. No charges have been brought against the shooter and he was released from police custody Saturday evening, according to a statement tweeted by the police department. Police have not released the brothers' names.
