Two St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office deputies fired their service weapons at Paige Taylor Hartness, 34, of Lexington Park, after she pointed a handgun at them during a confrontation in a hospital parking lot on October 23, 2025. The incident stemmed from a welfare check at a local residence where Hartness had left armed with a gun belonging to a roommate. Hartness remains hospitalized in stable condition following the nonfatal shooting, with no other injuries reported.
The sequence unfolded at 7:52 p.m., when deputies responded to a home in the 46000 block of Valley Drive for the welfare check. The roommate reported Hartness’s departure with the firearm, prompting a search of the surrounding area, which includes residential neighborhoods and commercial sites near the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. At 9:11 p.m., deputies found Hartness in a vehicle parked outside the MedStar Health Urgent Care.
After several minutes of verbal attempts to communicate, Hartness exited the vehicle and ran across the parking lot. Deputies pursued and confronted her again at 9:19 p.m., at which point she raised the handgun toward them. Corporal Tyler Payne, a veteran with nine years and 11 months of service, and Deputy Ian Flaherty, who has served one year and eight months, discharged their agency-issued firearms, striking Hartness. Deputies applied immediate aid, including compression and monitoring, until MedStar Aviation arrived to airlift her to a regional trauma center for treatment.
The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office released the deputies’ names and service lengths on October 27, 2025, in an update to its initial report. Both officers have been placed on paid administrative leave, a standard measure under department protocol for officer-involved shootings. This allows for parallel reviews: an administrative probe by the Office of Professional Responsibilities to assess policy adherence and a criminal investigation by the Criminal Investigations Division to examine evidence such as body camera footage, witness accounts and ballistics.
Investigators recovered a semiautomatic handgun at the scene, confirming Hartness’s possession of the weapon. In line with Maryland law, the Independent Investigations Division of the Office of the Attorney General was notified and responded to evaluate the case. The division, established under 2021 police reform measures and granted full investigative authority for fatal or near-fatal incidents since October 2023, opted not to assume control after reviewing Hartness’s stable condition and the circumstances. Such deferrals occur in nonfatal cases to streamline resources while ensuring local oversight.
Welfare checks like this one represent a core function for deputies in St. Mary’s County, where residential areas blend with naval and commercial hubs, increasing the potential for rapid escalations. Senate Bill 190, passed in 2024, requires in-person responses to such requests, with documentation of risks, contact attempts and outcomes shared with the requester. Deputies follow a tiered process: initial risk assessment, nonintrusive contact via phone or door knock, and area searches if indicators point to immediate danger, especially with firearms involved. In this county of about 115,000 residents, these calls often intersect with mental health concerns, which account for roughly 20 percent of similar statewide incidents.
The Sheriff’s Office use-of-force directive, detailed in policy 300, permits deadly force only when facing an imminent threat of death or serious injury to officers or bystanders. Officers must consider the full context, including the subject’s behavior, weapon distance and de-escalation options like commands or repositioning. Warnings are required when possible, and force must end once the threat diminishes. Post-incident steps include supervisor alerts, end-of-shift Blue Team reports and mandatory aid to injured parties. The office conducts yearly reviews of these events through the Office of Professional Responsibilities, incorporating scenario training on less-lethal tools and crisis intervention for at-risk individuals.
The investigation continues, with detectives analyzing all available evidence. Witnesses who have not spoken with authorities are encouraged to reach Detective David Lawrence at 301-475-4200, extension 8130, or David.Lawrence@stmaryscountymd.gov. Further updates will follow as the reviews progress.