A security guard who was up for termination allegedly “snapped” and gunned down a coworker leading his performance evaluation at an aerospace and defense company in Maryland on Wednesday.
Dylan Blake Chandler, a 26-year-old security worker, allegedly shot and killed 37-year-old Joseph Keith Aman at the Northrop Grumman facility in Anne Arundel County late Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Aman was another security worker at the facility and had pulled Chandler aside to discuss his lackluster effort on the job. Court documents obtained by WJZ revealed that Chandler was walking a fine line between “being reprimanded or terminated” in the meeting with Aman.
A third security worker remained in the room during the tense meeting. The unidentified hero leapt into action and disarmed Chandler after he allegedly shot Aman, according to the Anna Arundel County Police Department.
“As you can imagine, it’s very traumatizing for it to happen in the workplace. It was isolated and ended very quickly, and we are thankful for the intervention of the third security guard who was there to take him into custody,” Anne Arundel County Police spokesperson Justin Mulcahy said during a press conference Wednesday.
A separate witness told police that they heard a loud bang and saw Chandler brandishing a handgun while Aman slumped over, suffering an apparent gunshot wound, according to the documents obtained by the outlet.
Detectives said that shortly after Chandler was taken into custody at the facility, he admitted to police that he “snapped” because he believed Aman was not being held accountable for his own actions, according to WBAL.
Aman and Chandler were both contracted employees managed by the security firm Allied Universal.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our employee, and our sympathies go out to his family and friends. We are fully supporting the authorities as they conduct their investigation,” Allied Universal said in a statement.
Chandler was charged with first and second-degree murder. He is being held without bond, police said.
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for next month.
Northrop Grumman, the fifth-largest contractor of the US federal government, specializes in designing and manufacturing an ever-growing collection of systems for aeronautics, defense, and interstellar missions, according to its website.