Police shoot man after he shoots estranged girlfriend

The teacher killed in Montgomery Village is the cousin of Maryland's lieutenant governor

Police say that the man, 44-year-old Michael Keith Wilson of Hagerstown, shot Catherine T. Brown once. Police then shot Wilson multiple times; he also died at the scene.

"Due to information obtained about the direction of the bullet entry, detectives are able to confirm that it was Wilson who shot Brown," according to a police statement released Monday.

Two officers were trying to diffuse the situation when Wilson shot Brown. Police have not reported how many shots were fired at Wilson or whether both officers discharged their weapons.

Information remains sketchy on the details of what happened.

"I can only say it was very quick," said 6th District Commander Capt. Alan Goldberg, citing the ongoing investigation.

Responding to a 9-1-1 call from a neighbor at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, the two officers arrived at Brown's home on the 9400 block of Vineyard Haven Drive in the Salem's Grant neighborhood off Wightman Road. They encountered a situation in which Wilson was holding Brown "against her will," according to a police statement.

Brown, 40, a first cousin of the lieutenant governor, was a first-grade teacher at Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary School. She would have started her second year at the Washington, D.C., school today. News of her death shocked students, parents and teachers, dozens of whom are Montgomery County residents.

Lt. Gov. Brown, of Mitchellville, was in Denver for the Democratic National Convention when he received word of her death.

"I will be traveling back to Maryland immediately to be with my family during this difficult time," he said in a statement issued Monday morning. "I leave my fellow delegates with a heavy heart and I ask that everyone keep my family in their prayers." 

Paula J. Carreiro, Beauvoir's head of school, posted a letter on the school's Web site. "In her brief time at Beauvoir, Cathy became a wonderful and important person in the life of our School. Her warmth and deep caring for children will be sorely missed. Our prayers are with her family and students during this difficult time."

Brown bought the Salem's Grant home in May, according to state property tax records. The shootings have rattled the small neighborhood, a cozy cul-de-sac of single-family homes.

"It's a quiet neighborhood," said five-year resident John Murnane, who lived across the street from Brown. "… We're surprised. We were home, but we were in the back of the house. We thought maybe it was just a domestic dispute, we didn't pay attention to it."

Wilson had been a security guard at the National Cathedral since January 2004. He was primarily responsible for traffic management and was "a very familiar sight" at the 59-acre campus, said Kate Cullen, executive director of community relations for the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, the umbrella group that oversees the cathedral and the three schools on its campus.

"We just can't make any heads or tails of it right now because it was so out of character with the person we knew," she said Monday.

The two police officers involved, Officer Sandra Moss and Officer Kenneth Moreau, have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard procedure, police reported. They have been with Montgomery County Police for nine and three years, respectively.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 240-773-5070. Callers may remain anonymous.