STERLING, Va. — A suspect is in custody after opening fire Saturday night in a Virginia Walmart, injuring a Loudoun County Sheriff’s deputy and two store employees.
The incident began just before 5 p.m. after loss prevention officers at the store detained a man on suspicion of stealing items from the store, Loudoun Now reported.
According to a statement issued by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect was in a room with the two civilian security officers awaiting deputies’ arrival. When authorities arrived, the suspect then pulled a gun from his waistband and fired multiple rounds.
Both store employees and a deputy were struck by bullets and transported to an area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, the news site reported.
The suspect then ran from the store with another deputy chasing him. The pair exchanged gunfire, and the suspect was struck, but he stole a pickup truck parked behind the store and sped away, WUSA reported.
From there sheriff says suspect ran behind the building and took a pickup truck that had keys in it and drove towards Fairfax County. @FairfaxCountyPD and @VSPPIO are assisting LCPS in searching for suspect in Chantilly. K9 and chopper are involved according to LCPS sheriff
— Kolbie Satterfield (@KolbieReports) January 3, 2021
The suspect then led authorities on a chase before crashing the vehicle in Fairfax County, WDVM reported.
According to Loudoun Now, authorities continued searching for the suspect for nearly two hours before locating him – with the assistance of the Fairfax police helicopter and K-9 units – as he was running behind houses and finally stopping to catch his breath. He was taken into custody suffering from a gunshot wound to his arm but was alert and answering questions.
Neither the suspect’s identity nor the charges he is facing had been made public by Sunday night.
Cox Media Group
