MSP update Trooper involved shooting fatally wounds Hampstead woman
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2011
UPDATE: TROOPER INVOLVED SHOOTING FATALLY WOUNDS CARROLL CO. WOMAN
(HAMPSTEAD, MD) – A Carroll County woman armed with a handgun who was threatening suicide was fatally wounded
by a Maryland state trooper last night after she refused repeated orders to surrender and repeatedly pointed
the loaded gun at him.
The deceased woman is identified as Satina D. White, 40, who was living with her sister
and her sister’s teenaged daughter in the 4600-block of Upper Beckleysville Road, Hampstead, Md. White was
pronounced dead last night at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.
The trooper involved in the shooting is identified as Trooper John Warchal, a road patrol
trooper assigned to the Westminster Barrack. Trooper Warchal is a three-year-veteran of the Maryland State
Police.
White’s sister called 911 shortly before 6:00 p.m. yesterday and requested police respond
for a domestic situation involving White, whom she said had been drinking and was threatening suicide. The
caller said she did not feel safe with White in her home.
While troopers were en route to the scene, a second call was received informing troopers
White had armed herself with a handgun and was threatening suicide. Her sister told the barrack police
communications operator that White said she was going to commit suicide when the police arrived. In fear for
their safety, the sister and her teenaged daughter locked themselves in an upstairs bathroom and waited for
police to arrive.
Two troopers, a Hampstead Police officer and a Carroll County deputy sheriff arrived at
the two-story home at about 6:00 p.m. The preliminary investigation indicates White first appeared at an
upstairs window which she knocked the screen out of and then went to a downstairs window that was open and had
no screen in it. White repeatedly pointed the handgun at the police officers, who continued to tell her to
put it down. Neighbors in the area told investigators they heard repeated police commands to drop the weapon.
White refused repeated commands to drop the weapon and continued to repeatedly point the
gun at the trooper. In fear for his life, Trooper Warchal fired his Department-issued .40 caliber pistol,
wounding White.
Emergency care was immediately provided and EMS units were summoned to the scene. White
was flown by Maryland State Police medevac helicopter to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center where
she was pronounced dead.
No law enforcement officers were injured. Trooper Warchal was the only police officer on
the scene who fired his weapon.
Police went through the home and found White’s sister and her daughter locked in the
upstairs bathroom. They were unharmed.
White’s sister told investigators White had been drinking alcoholic beverages Sunday
evening and again on Monday. She said she and her sister had argued Sunday evening and again late Monday
afternoon. She said she had told her sister she would have to leave her residence and could no longer live
there.
Investigators believe White obtained the .45 caliber pistol from a pickup truck parked in
the driveway of the home. The truck belongs to the boyfriend of White’s sister. He was not at the scene at
the time of the incident. Police believe the gun belonged to him. Investigators will follow up to verify
information about the handgun. When police searched the truck, they found several loaded magazines and
ammunition for a .45 caliber handgun in the console area.
Members of the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit, Westminster Barrack Criminal
Investigation Section, Internal Affairs Unit, and crime scene technicians from the State Police Forensic
Sciences Division responded to the scene to conduct investigations. The scene was searched and processed
after investigators obtained a search warrant.
Trooper Warchal has been placed on administrative leave. This is routine while the
investigation into the police-involved shooting continues.
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