Towne Point Elementary custodian charged with murder after fatal shooting
Adam DuvernayA Towne Point Elementary custodian has been arrested in Maryland for the shooting death of Derrick Combs on school grounds Tuesday night.
Dover police said Thursday that Rodney West, 54, had been captured by federal marshals in Montgomery County, Maryland. Police said he's being held pending his extradition.
Fatal shooting closes Towne Point Elementary School in Dover
West is charged with first-degree murder and for having a firearm on school property.
Police said the investigation is not complete.
Dover Police went to the school around 10 p.m. Tuesday for a complaint about gunshots and found Combs, 39, had been shot multiple times. He was dead when they arrived.
Police said Wednesday morning they didn't believe the killing was random and said there was no threat to the community. Still, the school was closed Wednesday.
"We are saddened that the activity outside of the school between adults was brought on to our doorstep," said district spokeswoman Candace McCarthy. "We will be here to support our families, students and staff. We grieve for the unnecessary loss of life."
West has been a Capital School District employee since November 2014.
The killing was described by Capital School District Superintendent Dan Shelton as a domestic incident, but police have not elaborated on the motivation for the killing.
Police haven't yet made the killing's circumstances public. A Dover police spokesman said it will be a while before more information on the killing's motive is released because the case is still under investigation and because West is not yet in their custody.
This is a developing story.
Contact Adam Duvernay at (302) 319-1855 or aduvernay@delawareonline.com
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