A former Poolesville High School football player was killed during a police standoff early Sunday morning after a night of drinking in Pennsylvania, according to published reports.
Joseph Frederick Briggs, 22, was killed around 7 a.m. after a three-hour standoff with Pennsylvania State Police at an off-campus residence in Greensburg, Pa., where he was a senior at Seton Hill University, according to a statement from the school and a report from The Frederick News-Post. State police did not return calls for comment Monday.
Briggs, originally of Dickerson, was intoxicated and threatening to harm himself and his roommates, according to the newspaper.
While in the residence, Briggs fired a gun multiple times at police officers. He was killed by a single shot as he pointed a weapon out a window, according to the newspaper.
Briggs transferred to Poolesville High for his senior year, according to former Poolesville head football coach Larry Hurd, now in charge of Clarksburg High School's football program.
"He was a good young man, fantastic to coach, always wanted to be the best he could be," Hurd said Monday. "…When you coach in a small school, it's a family situation. It's been a very sad time for our football family."
Briggs was a criminal justice major, according to Kary Coleman, director of media relations and communications for Seton Hill. He was a member of the school's football team as a freshman for a portion of the 2005 season, she said.
Seton Hill's campus was on lockdown from 5:45-9 a.m. Sunday, according to Coleman. A memorial Mass will be held at 7 p.m. today at St. Joseph Chapel, located on the Catholic university's Greensburg campus.