Baltimore County school goes on lockdown after school resource officer fatally shoots himself

ESSEX, Md. - A Baltimore County school was placed on lockdown after a school resource officer shot and killed himself in his office, police said on Monday.

The officer was identified as Joseph Comegna, a 21-year veteran of the police force and a school resource officer for 12 years. He was assigned to Eastern Technical High School in Essex for the past four years.

Police say they received a call from the high school about an officer down at around 12:23 p.m. Comegna was located in his basement office suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper body after faculty heard the sound of a gunshot.

He was transported to MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, officials say.

Surveillance video from inside the school show Comegna was walking in the hallway alone before entering his office, according to police.

Officials say preliminary evidence shows the shooting was self-inflicted and detectives are investigating the officer's death as a suicide.

"Officer Comegna was found alone in the office," police said in a news release. "Officers recovered a single firearm from the scene, Officer Comegna's duty weapon. Detectives have determined that a single round was fired from Officer Comegna's duty weapon. While Officer Comegna was wearing a body-worn camera it was not activated at the time of the incident."

After briefly being placed on lockdown, students at Eastern Tech were dismissed on time. The school is expected to be open on Tuesday with crisis counselors on hand.

Investigators have not indicated what may have led up to the incident.