Richmond, Va. – A gunman who shot on Thursday a Virginia state trooper at the Greyhound bus terminal in Richmond was killed after two other troopers returned fire, Los Angeles Times reported. Two civilians were injured in the shooting but Virginia State Police has not clarified whether they had been shot.
State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said the trooper who resulted shot by the gunman had severe, life-threatening injuries while the two civilians were not at risk. The three victims were taken to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center.
An initial police report stated that two troopers were transported to a hospital for treatment, but Geller later said that only one had resulted injured. Troopers with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation were taking part in a drug interdiction training at the bus station at the time of the shooting, according to police sources in Richmond.
The troopers were talking to a man who apparently handed something to one of them, as reported by USA Today. That is when the shooting began. The troopers were wearing plain clothes but had badges and guns.
Greyhound officials tweeted that the Richmond station is closed until further notice and that they were helping authorities with the investigation. This bus terminal is west of Richmond’s downtown area, within a once industrial area and across from the city’s minor league baseball stadium.
The shooting brought heavy security to the scene
State police officers responded around 2:45 p.m. to reports of gunfire at the busy bus terminal located in the 2900 block of N. Boulevard.
Numerous police vehicles and heavily armed officers arrived at the scene, as shown by broadcast images. Vincent Smith, who works at the U-Haul Moving and Storage facility next door to the station, told Los Angeles Times that police officers were carrying assault weapons and shields. One of them ordered Smith and his co-workers to stay inside and lock the doors. He said he had been locked inside the facility for an hour and a half by late afternoon.
Source: Los Angeles Times