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NewsDecember 22, 2005

RANDALLSTOWN, Md. -- Two off-duty Baltimore police officers were shot to death at a suburban townhouse Wednesday, and another law enforcement officer turned himself in a short time later, authorities said. Police gave no motive for the slayings. The suspect and the victims knew one another, according to Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey. But he said he did not know their exact relationship...

BEN NUCKOLS ~ The Associated Press

RANDALLSTOWN, Md. -- Two off-duty Baltimore police officers were shot to death at a suburban townhouse Wednesday, and another law enforcement officer turned himself in a short time later, authorities said.

Police gave no motive for the slayings.

The suspect and the victims knew one another, according to Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey. But he said he did not know their exact relationship.

The two officers, a man and a woman both assigned to the midnight shift, were shot shortly after noon. County Police Chief Terrence Sheridan said there were no signs of forced entry in the townhome, which was listed in the slain male officer's name.

The victims were found on the second floor of the townhome; each had been shot repeatedly.

Neighbor Jerry McDonald said the officer who lived in the townhouse was single and had been dating, among others, a female officer who worked with him.

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The suspect, who was not identified, was a police officer for the state Department of General Services and carried a gun as part of his job. Police expected to charge him late Wednesday, Toohey said.

After the suspect surrendered at a police station, officers found the gun used in the shooting. It was not the suspect's service weapon, Toohey said.

Authorities identified the victims as Adam Vasquez, 26, who had been on the city police force for 4 1/2 years, and Leslie Holiday, 34, who had been an officer for 1 1/2 years.

Three other people were inside the home at the time of the shooting: an adult couple and a small child. Their relationship to Vasquez was not immediately certain, but McDonald said Vasquez's cousin, her husband and their two children had been living with the officer.

At the city police department's northwestern district precinct, where the slain officers worked, officers were visibly upset, crying and talking among themselves. They declined to speak with a reporter.

Crisis counselors were available, and a flag at the precinct was lowered to half-staff.

"Our job now is come together as a department and carry on the job we have to do out on the street," Baltimore Police Commissioner Leonard Hamm said.

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