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‘I could see muzzle flashes,’ says man about to walk into Greyhound station

Posted at 7:43 PM, Mar 31, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-31 22:01:44-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- New details and witness accounts are shedding light on Thursday's shooting at the Greyhound bus station in Richmond that left the suspect and a state trooper dead and two civilians wounded.

WTVR CBS 6 reporter Jon Burkett arrived on the scene minutes after the shooting. He met Brendan Hamilton from Baltimore, who said he almost walked into the unthinkable. In fact, he said he had just arrived at the bus station, but decided to wait before going inside.

“My girlfriend dropped me off,” Hamilton 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, Hamilton 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.”

The Shooting

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 both the suspect and the trooper, died at the hospital. The two civilians suffered non life-threatening injuries.

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