Correctional Officer Gregory Collins was on his way home to his family when he was killed by someone who fired into his pickup truck. Maryland State Police say the shooting might have been a case of mistaken identity, and 10 years later homicide detectives continue to look for information that could help solve this slaying of a fellow law enforcement officer.
It was shortly after midnight on June 4, 2001. The 31-year-old former Marine Corps artillery specialist was driving his pickup on Route 331 from the Eastern Correctional Institution in Westover. He was shot by someone following behind, and his vehicle crashed. Collins was about 2 1/2 miles from his Vienna-area home where he lived with his wife and 5-month-old daughter.
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Collins, who had worked for three years at ECI, was discovered that afternoon after his wife called police to report that he had not returned home after working the 4 p.m.-to-midnight shift.
Collins, a 1988 graduate of North Dorchester County High School, had served in the Maryland National Guard in the 115th Military Police Battalion in Salisbury since 1999.
Two years later police got a surprising clue. Detectives learned that another man driving a similar truck was also shot at on the same road six days before Collins’ shooting. Police said Gary N. Camper was driving in his work truck when someone shot it several times. Camper was not injured.
Ballistics tests have shown the same weapon was used in both shootings, state police said.
A $10,000 reward is being offered. Anyone with information is asked to call Maryland State Police cold case unit at 410-953-8211.
