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Deputy Shot While Helping Domestic Violence Victim Improving; Has a Long Way to Go

What to Know

  • An armed suspect was fatally shot. He's been identified as James L. Rich II, 52, of Edmore Road in Chestertown, Maryland.
  • Dfc. Warren Scott Hogan suffered a close-range shotgun blast, which a surgeon called "a devastating injury."

A sheriff's deputy, who was shot at close range while helping a victim of domestic violence Thursday, is improving -- though doctors warn he faces a long recovery.

Deputy 1st Class Warren Scott Hogan is now hospitalized in serious condition -- though he had what the sheriff's office called "issues causing some concern" overnight.

Hogan suffered a devastating injury, doctors have said, and "faces additional surgeries and a long recovery period," the Queen Anne's County Sheriff's department said in a Facebook post.

The local Fraternal Order of Police has established a GoFundMe fundraising site to cover some of Hogan's medical costs and help his family. 

Hogan was shot as he helped a victim of domestic violence. He was escorting a woman as she got her belongings from a suspect's home, after she reported an altercation between them, authorities said. 

Hogan was able to fire back, and James L. Rich II was shot and killed. 

Hogan was struck at close range in the torso, said Dr. Thomas Scalea, physician-in-chief at R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Maryland.

"He was awake and talking, but clearly critically injured," Scalea said.

"...[A] close-range shotgun blast is a devastating injury," he said.

Hogan was flown to Shock Trauma, part of the University of Maryland Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. He may need more.

"It's a little early to tell what else we're going to have to do, and we'll see how things go over the next few days and few weeks," Scalea said.

Hogan was wearing body armor, but he was shot below the armor, Hoffman said.

Hogan was wearing a body camera during the incident. Investigators will review any footage available, Shipley said. The footage would be considered part of the ongoing investigation and would not be released, he said.

Hogan is a four-year veteran of the Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Office and served about seven years with another agency, Queen Anne's County Sheriff Gary Hofmann said.

"He's a really great guy," Hofmann said. "We've been here the entire time with him and his family, supporting them and help them get through this very traumatic event."

Hofmann said he visited Hogan as he awoke from surgery and appeared to be in "good spirits." Hoffman said Hogan's family was having a difficult time.

The Maryland State Police homicide unit is investigating the case.

Calls related to domestic disputes are the most dangerous types of calls for responding officers, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund says.

More police officers were killed in 2016 after they responded to domestic disturbances than any other type of call, according to data the group released Thursday. Overall law enforcement fatalities rose this year to their highest level in five years, with 135 officers killed in the line of duty.

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