Delaware police fatally shoot man who allegedly shot woman, set house on fire, police say

NEW CASTLE COUNTY, Del. (CBS) — Police in New Castle County, Delaware, are investigating after related shootings left a woman and a man dead Sunday morning. 

Delaware State Police were called to an Exxon gas station on Main Street in Stanton around 9:40 a.m. for a report of a man with a firearm at a nearby residence, police said. Officers then responded to a residence on the 1700 block of Limestone Road for a house fire.

At the house, officers found a 22-year-old woman from Wilmington who had been shot. They began life-saving efforts but she died at the scene, according to police. 

A preliminary investigation found that the suspected shooter was a 57-year-old man from Milford, Delaware, police said. Officials say he forcibly entered the house, which belongs to his ex-spouse, and fired multiple rounds at two people, including the woman who died. The other person in the house — a 20-year-old Wilmington man — was not hit and fled to the gas station. 

Police say the suspect then set a fire in the home and fled in a car.

Members of the Delaware State Police Aviation Section located the suspect and the vehicle near the C&D Canal. Troopers tried to negotiate with the suspect, who climbed partway up an electrical tower, for several hours. The suspect then fired at police, leading them to fire back, according to police.

Troopers administered first aid to the suspect, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. 

Officials have not released the name of the suspect or the victim because their families hadn’t been notified yet.  

The troopers who were involved are on administrative leave while a use of force investigation is completed in conjunction with the Delaware Department of Justice, which is the police department’s standard operating procedure.

The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit is still investigating this incident and asks anyone with information to contact Detective B. McDerby by calling 302-741-2821. Information may also be provided by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333.