Popular Baltimore County Police Resource Officer commits suicide inside local high school
On November 12, Baltimore County officials reported that a Baltimore County police officer fatally shot himself in his office at Eastern Technical High School in Essex earlier in the day – during school hours. Police and medics were dispatched to the school in the 1100 block of Mace Avenue, in Essex, Maryland, around 12:23 p.m. for a call of an officer down.
First responders found the officer in his office in the basement of the school suffering from a single gunshot wound to the upper body. He was transported to MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Based on surveillance video obtained from the school, detectives determined that the officer, identified as Officer Joe Comegna, the permanent School Resource Officer for Eastern Tech, walked down the hallway alone and entered his office. Faculty heard the sound of a gunshot and responded to the SRO office where they found Officer Comegna suffering from a gunshot wound.
Officer Comegna was found alone in the office. Officers recovered a single firearm from the scene, Officer Comegna’s duty weapon. Detectives have determined that a single round was fired from Officer Comegna’s duty weapon.
While Officer Comegna was wearing a body-worn camera it was not activated at the time of the incident. The preliminary evidence indicates that the gunshot wound was self-inflicted and the officer’s death is being investigated as a suicide.
Eastern Tech was briefly put on lock-down status as the incident developed and was initially investigated by police; but the school was later dismissed on schedule. School administrators said that school would reopen today with crisis counselors on hand to assist any students or faculty members that may need assistance.
Officer Comegna is a 21-year veteran of the Baltimore County Police Department in good standing. A police spokesperson said that he has been a School Resource Officer for twelve years and permanently assigned to Eastern Tech for the last four years. “He is friend and family to many and will be sorely missed as we work to comprehend this tragedy.”
Currently, there is no known motive for Comegna’s suicide.
The Carroll County Times shared a quote from Baltimore County Executive Don Mohler who sent his and the entire county’s condolences to the officer’s family.
“So difficult to find the words when a family loses a loved one,” he said. “All of us in Baltimore County stand in support of the Comegna family at this difficult time.”
Comegna is remembered as a kind and caring officer who invested his time and effort in trying to help youth steer clear from drugs. He is remembered in an article of Drug Free World that stated that he, “loves to be able to give kids what they need for the future. He is also a Scoutmaster with the Boy Scouts of America and coaches lacrosse.”
(Source: Baltimore County Government)
~ Written by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter
