Charles Moose, a former Montgomery County chief of police who led the response to the sniper attacks in Washington DC in 2002, has died, according to the State Department of Education. He was 68.
Moose retired from law enforcement in 2013 after serving 22 years with the Montgomery County Police Department.
In late 2002, during the height of the sniper violence, Moose was in Montgomery County as the county’s senior commander of patrol, when he received a request to respond to a rampage that left 10 people dead and three wounded.
While in Washington to take part in a counterterrorism exercise at a federal building, Moose was shot in the leg when he returned to his vehicle. He drove himself to local hospitals, where he was treated for a severe wound to his leg, and eventually released.
During a press conference shortly after the shooting, Moose said he was on his way to a high school field trip when he received a call from police and was suddenly told to return to headquarters.
“So I drove back to the headquarters and when I got to there, we were told that they found this guy and they were asking to talk to me,” Moose said in an interview with the Montgomery County Hero Project in 2016. “So I drove to hospital where I was treated for my leg.”
After the shooting, Moose took over as the county’s police chief for the remainder of the sniper case, but eventually left law enforcement to become a private attorney.
Richard Altman, a former deputy police chief of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, said Moose worked as a “cop’s cop” while he was in uniform.
“His commitment to his family was deep. He made you feel that,” Altman said. “He had a great work ethic and was dedicated and given everything he could.”
In 2016, Moose described his favorite job on the force, telling the Hero Project he “loved every minute” of it.
In a statement Wednesday, Governor Larry Hogan said Moose “was the epitome of a public servant,” earning the distinction of Maryland’s Governor’s Honorary Police Officer for Public Safety Services in 2012.
“My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, daughter, and son,” Hogan said.
John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were convicted of killing 10 people and wounding three others during three months of shooting sprees across Washington DC and Frederick, Maryland.
“While we mourn his passing, we appreciate his commitment and devotion to making our communities better places for all to live,” Hogan said.