A recent homicide case out of Montgomery County has put a harsh spotlight on an issue families rarely think about until it’s too late: whether an assisted living facility is taking the concrete steps required to protect residents from preventable harm.

As reported by The Daily Record and the Montgomery County PD, a 22-year-old employee of a Potomac assisted living facility (identified as a medication technician) has been charged with first-degree murder in the Feb. 14, 2026 shooting death of an 87-year-old resident. Authorities have also alleged the same suspect fired at a Maryland State Police trooper during a traffic stop roughly ten days later.

This is an active criminal case. But it also raises a separate question families are entitled to ask in civil court: What safeguards were in place, and did the facility and its corporate operators follow them?

Long-Term Care Facilities Have a Duty to Protect Residents from Preventable Violence

Assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities are not ordinary residential buildings. They are entrusted environments for people who may be medically fragile, cognitively impaired, physically dependent, or unable to protect themselves.

That trust comes with obligations facilities cannot outsource or reduce to paperwork, including:

• Meaningful screening before hiring (including appropriate background checks, verification of credentials when applicable, and prior employment verification where appropriate)
• Clear boundaries on resident access (including resident rooms, medication areas, and exterior doors—especially during overnight and early-morning hours when oversight may be thinner)
• Active supervision and enforcement, not policies that exist on paper only
• Security and monitoring practices that reflect known risks in long-term care settings, including the reality that harm can be intentional

Civil Liability Can Extend Beyond the Individual Actor

Criminal prosecution focuses on whether an accused person committed a crime and what punishment may apply. Civil litigation focuses on a different question: whether a facility or corporate operator failed to take reasonable steps to protect residents from foreseeable harm.

That distinction matters because civil claims may still be viable even when:

• A perpetrator is never criminally charged or convicted
• An accused offender is found Not Guilty in criminal court
• No wrongdoer is identified or located

Families Deserve Clear Answers About Safety Measures

After a serious incident, facility operators often release statements emphasizing cooperation with investigators and a commitment to resident safety. Cooperation is important, but it is not the same as explaining what safeguards were in place and whether they were followed.

In civil cases, the focus is on the operational facts that show whether the harm was foreseeable and preventable, including:

• Hiring and screening safeguards (background checks appropriate to the role, credential/licensure verification where applicable, reference and prior-employment verification, and review of disqualifying history)
• Retention and discipline practices (how complaints are handled, whether red flags trigger investigation, and whether corrective action is documented and enforced)
• Training and supervision for resident-facing roles (medication protocols, resident privacy and access rules, escalation procedures, and supervisor oversight, especially on nights and weekends)
• Security and access controls inside the building (key/card access, door alarms and latching systems, camera placement and monitoring, visitor controls, and after-hours movement policies)
• Staffing levels and on-site oversight (who is present and responsible during overnight/early-morning hours, coverage gaps, and whether staffing decisions reduce the ability to monitor residents and respond quickly)

These cases often turn on records facilities control, such as staffing schedules, training documentation, disciplinary history, access logs, incident reports, surveillance footage, and internal communications. Preserving and reviewing that evidence is often central to determining what went wrong and who may be responsible

Brown & Barron, LLC’s Work in Cases Involving Negligent Hiring, Supervision, and Intentional Harm

Brown & Barron, LLC handles cases involving catastrophic injury and wrongful death in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other long-term care settings, including matters where harm stems from negligent hiring and supervision and situations involving abuse by staff, physical injuries, and sexual abuse.

These are not “simple negligence” cases. They require building proof against well-funded operators and insurers, preserving critical evidence early, and digging into what the facility knew (or should have known) and what it failed to do.

If your family has concerns about a serious injury, assault, or death in an assisted living facility or skilled nursing setting in Maryland, Brown & Barron, LLC can help you evaluate what happened and what accountability may look like through the civil justice system.

Call (410) 698-1717 or contact us online to request a confidential consultation.