A funeral service will be held Tuesday for the 28-year-old Prince William County, Virginia, officer who was fatally shot on her first day on the job.
The funeral for Officer Ashley Guindon is scheduled to begin at noon Tuesday at the Hylton Memorial Chapel in Woodbridge. A viewing will precede the service.
On Monday night, scores of people lined the route on which Guindon's body was transported from Mountcastle Funeral Home to Hylton Memorial Chapel. Participants held flags, saluted and held their hands over their hearts as the hearse passed.
"It's just the right thing to do," one woman said. "I'm amazed at the community spirit. It makes you feel good."
Dozens of police cruisers and motorcycles with red-and-blue lights flashing lit up Woodbridge.
Guindon was shot Saturday while responding to a domestic altercation at the home of Ronald Hamilton in Woodbridge, Virginia. Police say Hamilton's wife, 29-year-old Crystal Hamilton, called police after getting into a physical altercation with her husband. Investigators believe Hamilton killed his wife before the officers arrived. He then shot all three responding officers when they approached his door, court documents say.
The general public is invited to attend Guindon's service, but priority will be given to law enforcement and government officials if space becomes an issue.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
By Monday evening, flowers laid in Guindon's honor completely covered a police cruiser at the Garfield station. The police department draped black bunting over the police car and the station house.
Police services in Prince William County will not be disrupted Tuesday while officers attend Guindon's funeral. Members of the Manassas City Police Department, Prince William County Sheriff's Office and Virginia State Police will assist.
The two officers injured after being shot, Jesse Hempen and David McKeown, will not be able to attend the services, police said.
More than 100 patrol cars lined the roads outside Inova Fairfax Hospital in Northern Virginia on Sunday night to stand vigil and provide escort to the medical examiner for Guindon's body.
"It is a sad day for everyone in this room. A sad day for law enforcement," Prince William County police Chief Stephan Hudson said during a news conference Sunday. "We extend our condolences to Ashley's mother and extended family."
Guindon went through training with the department last year before leaving for personal reasons. She rejoined the department this year and had been sworn in as an officer on Friday. She was on her first shift Saturday when she was shot.
"We were struck by her passion to do this job," Hudson said. "She did share with us when we rehired her that she felt like she wanted to do this job. She couldn't get it out of her blood."
Guindon, a Woodbridge resident who previously lived in Merrimack, New Hampshire, enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She relocated to Virginia to pursue a graduate degree and sought to become a crime scene investigator, Prince William County police said in an online biography. She was the only daughter of Sharon Nowack Guindon and the late David Guindon, police said.
She was bright, ambitious and had a beloved pet pug.
Memorial Fund for Officer Guindon
The Prince William County Police Association has created a memorial fund for Guindon's family. The association will collect all donations and send them directly to Guindon's mother.
Police are warning people not to donate to GoFundMe pages that purport to be raising money for Guindon's family. Police determined that at least one fraudulent page was set up in the officer's name.
If possible, checks should be made out to "PWCPA in memory of OFC Ashley Guindon," authorities said.
Anyone who wishes to donate can leave their donation at any county police station or mail it directly to the police association at: Prince William County Police Association, Officer Guindon Memorial Fund, P. O. Box 1845, Manassas, VA 20108.
