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Delaware man fatally shoots elderly Maryland couple at cemetery, police say

BEAR, Del. — A Delaware man fatally shot an 86-year-old man and an 86-year-old woman at a veterans cemetery Friday, authorities said.

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According to the Delaware State Police, Sheldon C. Francis, 29, of Middletown, shot the couple, who lived in Elkton, Maryland, while they were visiting the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Bear just before 10:15 a.m.

The woman died at the scene, and the man died Saturday at an area hospital, WCAU reported. The names of the couple have not been released.

State police said they engaged Francis in a shootout around noon in a wooded area adjacent to the cemetery, according to a news release. Francis was found dead from a gunshot wound around 4 p.m. in the same area.

It was not clear whether Francis’ wound was self-inflicted or the result of the gunfire exchange, police said.

No officers were injured in the shooting, police said.