AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. — Virginia State Police launched an investigation after a trooper shot a man at a rest stop along Interstate 81.
Virginia State Police were called to the Augusta County rest area, near mile marker 232, at about 9:46 p.m. Sunday when a driver called police on two men who were “making comments that alarmed another motorist who had also stopped out at the Rest Area,” according to a Virginia State Police spokesperson.
The responding trooper approached the vehicle in question and spoke with the men inside. During the course of the conversation, one of the men ran off, police said.
“The [man] ran across the southbound lanes, through the median and across to the northbound Rest Area. The trooper ran after the subject on foot. The trooper encountered the male subject at the fence line behind the Rest Area. The male suspect then pulled out a knife and advanced on the trooper. The male suspect was subsequently shot,” the Virginia State Police spokesperson said.
The person who was shot was flown to the hospital in Charlottesville with serious injuries. The second man in the vehicle was detained for questioning.
The trooper, who was not hurt in the incident, has been placed on administrative leave with pay, pending the outcome of the investigation.
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