Police chief: ‘She clearly had a passion for serving others’

A woman called 911 Saturday night during a domestic dispute with her husband.

She was shot and killed before police arrived her home in the 15000 block of Lashmere Court in Dale City.

Three other officers were shot — one of them fatally.

Officer Ashley Guindon, 28, was flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital Saturday night after being shot outside the home and later died.

Two other officers — Jessie Hempen, 31, an 8-year veteran of the force, and David McKeown, 33, with 12 years on the force — remain hospitalized. 

The woman who initially called for help: 29-year-old Crystal Sheree Hamilton, was found dead inside her home.

Police said Ronald Williams Hamilton, 32, shot and killed his wife and Guindon. He surrendered and was taken into custody.

Hamilton serves in the Army and is stationed at the Pentagon, said Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney Paul Ebert. The suspect was expected to be arraigned in Prince William County Court Monday morning, he added.

Hamilton’s 11-year-old son was inside the home when the shooting occurred. He was unharmed and was sent to be with family members.

Here’s the full police statement on the murders:

Murder Investigation | Line of Duty Death – On February 27 at 5:37PM, officers responded to a residence located in the 15000 block of Lashmere Ct in Woodbridge (22192) for an initial report of a domestic altercation. When officers arrived on scene, they approached the front door of the home and were confronted by a suspect, later identified as the accused.

The accused was armed with a firearm and opened fire, striking three county police officers who sustained critical wounds. Additional officers arrived at the residence and the accused surrendered to police without further incident. Officers also provided life-saving first aid to the wounded officers until Fire & Rescue crews could get on scene. All three officers were flown to Fairfax INOVA Hospital where one of the officers, identified as Officer Ashley Guindon, died as a result of her injuries. After securing the suspect, officers conducted a search of the home and located an adult woman inside deceased from gunshot related injuries.

An 11-year old boy was also inside the residence at the time of the incident and fled the home at some point during the encounter. The child was not injured and will be released to the custody of other family members. The investigation revealed that the accused and his wife were involved in a verbal altercation which escalated physically.

The wife was able to contact police; however, before officers could arrive, she was allegedly shot and killed by the accused. The remaining two officers shot during the encounter remain hospitalized at this time. Following the investigation, the accused was arrested and charged. More information will be released when available.

This is Prince William County’s fourth line of duty death since the department’s inception in 1970 and only the second officer to be killed feloniously in the line of duty.

 

Arrested on February 27:
Ronald Williams HAMILTON, age 32, of 13051 Lashmere Ct in Woodbridge
Charged with 1 count of murder of a police officer, 1 count of murder, 2 counts of malicious wounding of a police officer, and two counts of use of a firearm in commission of a felony
Court Date: Pending | Bond: Held WITHOUT Bond

 

Guindon graduated Prince William County’s Criminal Justice Academy in June 2015. Shortly after that, she quit the force for personal reasons.

She recently reapplied to be a Prince William County Police officer. She was sworn in the day before she was shot and killed. 

Says Prince William Police Chief Stephan Hudson:

“We she came back and reapplied, we were struck by her passion to do this job. Obviously, she had separated with us during her first field training phase for a variety of reasons she didn’t share with us. What she did share with us when we rehired her, she still felt like she still wanted to do this job and she couldn’t get it out of her blood. She clearly had a passion for serving others.”

As the department press release noted, she is the fourth officer to die in the line of duty since the department was formed in 1970. She is the second officer to be shot and killed, following the death of Phillip Micheal Pennington who was shot and killed inside a home in Dale City in 1990.

Guindon hails from New England and is survived by her mother who is expected to travel to the area. Her body was taken to Mountcastle Funeral Home on Sunday afternoon.

A candlelight vigil was held in her honor at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Prince William County Government Center’s Sean Connaughton Plaza. More than 1,000 people attended.

Funeral services have yet to be announced.