Washington County Circuit Court Associate Judge Andrew Wilkinson was shot outside his Hagerstown, Maryland, home on Thursday and died later in the day at the hospital.
The BBC reported that police believe 52-year-old Wilkinson was targeted because of an ongoing custody battle. He was shot multiple times, and police found him lying in the driveway.
NBC News noted that Sheriff Brian K. Albert said, “The victim was suffering from what appeared to be gunshot wounds. He was transported to Meritus Medical Center, where he later succumbed to his injuries.”
Police are searching for 49-year-old Pedro Argote in connection with Wilkinson’s death and are warning the public that Argote is to be considered armed and dangerous.
Pedro Argote (Washington County Sheriff’s Office)
Wilkinson was the judge in a custody case involving Argote Thursday morning. Wilkinson granted custody to the mother during the hearing.
Maryland has an “assault weapons” ban, a “high capacity” magazine ban, universal background checks, a red flag law, “ghost gun” regulations, a permit-to-purchase for handguns, and other controls that Democrats at the federal level want for the entire nation.
AWR Hawkins: Dem’s Solution to Failed Gun Control Is More Gun Control
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.