RICHMOND, Va. -- A Virginia State trooper who was shot when a suspect opened fire at a Greyhound bus station in Richmond Thursday afternoon has died, according to Virginia State Police.
Virginia State Police Superintendent W. Steven Flaherty confirms Trooper Chad Dermyer was killed as a result of multiple gunshot wounds from the suspect in Thursdays Greyhound Bus Station shooting. Dermyer is survived by his wife and two kids.
The former Marine is from Jackson, Michigan and was assigned to the Hampton/Newport News area.
Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne N. Geller said four people, including the suspect, were shot when troopers were called to the bus station in the 2910 N. Boulevard at 2:45 p.m.
Geller said a trooper, who was already at the station, met a man just inside the entrance. Geller said the trooper was talking to the suspect when he pulled out a gun and shot the trooper.
Geller said two nearby troopers returned fire on the suspect.
The trooper, two civilians and the suspect were transported to VCU Medical Center.
Geller said the suspect died at the hospital, while Flaherty confirms Dermyer died at the hospital. The two civilians suffered non life-threatening injuries.
Multiple sources told WTVR CBS 6 reporter Jon Burkett that state police were at the bus station for a drug interdiction training exercise when gunfire erupted.
A man who stopped for a smoke break before going into the bus station, said he heard at least five to ten shots fired.
As a result of the incident, the Boulevard is closed between Robin Hood Road and Leigh Street.
Greyhound tweeted that the bus station was closed until further notice.
We are fully cooperating with the authorities and providing any information they may need, including video surveillance that was captured.
We’re unable to confirm the number of injuries at this time. However, no employees were injured.
Our station has been evacuated and we are offering counselors to not only assist our employees, but customers that were at the station as well.
We are re-routing inbound schedules to our Richmond garage until further notice. If you are scheduled to travel today to or from Richmond, we will work with you to re-issue tickets for another time.
"We will re-route customers as possible and we will re-issue tickets once we resume service if you are supposed to travel to or from Richmond today," the company stated.
The bus station is across the street from the Diamond baseball stadium.
Mayor Dwight Jones Office released the following statement after the shooting:
“Virginia State Police have confirmed that there were four people that were shot during today’s incident. A Virginia State Trooper has sustained life-threatening injuries. The shooting suspect is deceased.
“This is still an active investigation and a very fluid matter. Virginia State Police are going to need time to verify and validate all of the information.
“Richmond Police Department officials are fully engaged and are acting in a supporting role. Governor Terry McAuliffe and I have spoken and are sharing resources and information. We are all heartbroken by this occurrence and our prayers go out to all those that have been affected by this incident.”
Richmond Police, the FBI, US Marshals Service, ATF, Henrico County Police and Homeland Security officers assisted at the scene.
State police said the incident remains under investigation.
Man About to Walk into Station Saw Muzzle Fire
WTVR CBS 6 crews on the way to the incident spotted 30 to 40 police cruisers speeding to the scene.
When reporter Jon Burkett met a man who said he almost walked into the unthinkable.
“My girlfriend dropped me off,” he said. “I decided to smoke a cigarette out front before I got into the bus station.”
He said that decision may have saved his life.
“As soon as I went over to touch the door, I could see muzzle flashes inside.”
When asked what he did next, he said he “ran the hell out of there.”
“The loud noises didn’t make sense," he said. "I was like, there’s no way that’s gunshots. But then there were five, ten more. And I could see the flash from the gun barrel through the [expletive] window.”
WTVR CBS 6 News has multiple crews on the scene. Scroll down for a stream of updates as events unfolded. Depend on WTVR.com and CBS 6 News for complete coverage of this developing story.
