Trooper, Gunman Dead in Bus Station Shooting

It took place at a Greyhound station in Richmond, Virginia
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 31, 2016 4:28 PM CDT
Updated Apr 1, 2016 12:06 AM CDT
Cops: 3 Hurt, Suspect Dead in Bus Station Shooting
Trooper Chad Dermyer, at right, was killed.   (Virginia State Police)

A gunman fatally shot a Virginia state trooper Thursday at a busy bus terminal in the capital city of Richmond before he was shot dead by two other troopers, police said. Two civilians were also shot but were expected to recover, reports AP. It's unclear what motivated the attack, which occurred just inside an entrance about 2:45pm after the trooper—identified as 37-year-old Chad Dermyer—encountered the shooter, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "While he was talking to this individual, the individual pulled out a gun and shot the trooper," says a police spokeswoman. "Two troopers who were standing nearby returned fire." The gunman has not been identified, pending notification of his relatives. It's not known at this point whose bullets struck the civilians.

Dermyer is a former Marine who leaves behind a wife and two children. "This has been a tough evening," said State Police Superintendent W. Steven Flaherty. Leigha Schilling, who was between stops on her bus trip from New York to South Carolina, said she was smoking a cigarette outside the station Thursday when she heard banging. She went back inside briefly and saw people lying on the ground and what appeared to be blood on the floor. A security guard ordered her to get on the floor, but she ran back outside, and then heard several shots, she said. "I was terrified," she said. "I didn't know what was going on." City Councilwoman Rita Trammell was at the scene of the shooting and says it was a "senseless act." (More shooting stories.)

Get breaking news in your inbox.
What you need to know, as soon as we know it.
Sign up
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X