Md. gun shop owner charged in shooting at police vehicle
A man listed as the owner of a Rockville, Maryland, gun shop has been arrested for firing at police early Tuesday.
According to Montgomery County Police, an officer in an unmarked vehicle pulled into the parking lot of Engage Armament, a gun shop on East Gude Drive, shortly after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday when a man ran towards the officer’s car and began shooting.
Police say the officer attempted to drive away, radioed for assistance, and gave a description of the man. The officer turned on his emergency equipment, “signaling that he was a police officer.”
And at that point, according to police, the man stopped, dropped his weapon and was taken into custody.
The man was identified as 42-year-old Andrew S. Raymond of Darnestown. Raymond is listed as the owner of Engage Armament on its website. According to charging documents, when he was put in handcuffs, Raymond said he was sorry for shooting at the officer.
Raymond was charged with first-degree assault and the use of a firearm in a crime of violence. No attorney for Raymond was listed on court documents.
The officer was not hurt, but the car was hit twice.
Charging documents state that police had pulled into the parking lot of Engage Armament as part of a check “due to ongoing burglaries and attempted burglaries of gun shops” both in Montgomery and neighboring counties.
On Nov. 25, Atlantic Guns, a shop on Frederick Avenue in Rockville, had been targeted by thieves who used a car to slam into the building before stealing a number of firearms from the business. The car used in that burglary had been stolen.