Suicidal woman draws deadly fire in Carroll County

HAMPSTEAD, Md. - During the first 911 call from the stately, two-story house in Carroll County, a woman reported her sister had been drinking heavily and threatening to commit suicide.

But it was the second call that prepared them for a deadly face-off.

"As troopers were responding, the homeowner called again and said her sister was now armed with a handgun and threatening to kill herself when police arrived,” said Greg Shipley of the Maryland State Police, “The sister reported she and her teenaged daughter were in fear. Ultimately, they hid in a locked bathroom upstairs."

When the troopers arrived, a woman later identified as 40-year old Satina White first appeared in an upstairs window… brandishing the handgun, and then ran downstairs where she aimed the weapon at the officers while refusing their orders to drop it.

At that point, state police say Trooper John Warchal fired and struck the woman in the upper torso.

A medevac helicopter transported her to the Shock Trauma Center where she died.

Police are now learning more about the domestic dispute that led up to the fatal shooting.

"Investigators do know that she had been living with her sister. Her sister had told her just in the last day that she needed to move out, again, because of issues between the two apparently,” said Shipley, “So there were some things going on in her life, but that continues to be looked into by investigators."

Police say White obtained the .45 handgun from the truck belonging to her sister’s boyfriend, which was parked outside the home.

A search of that vehicle turned up several loaded magazines and ammunition.

Trooper Warchal has served three years with the Maryland State Police and he’s now been placed on routine administrative leave pending an investigation into the shooting.