Umar Burley, Man Awarded Millions In Gun Trace Task Force Settlement, Charged With Attempted Murder In Virginia Shooting

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WJZ) -- A 50-year-old Baltimore man who was awarded millions of dollars in a settlement last month tied to the disgraced Gun Trace Task Force is charged with attempted murder following a shooting in Virginia on Thursday.

Police in Harrisonburg, Virginia, arrested Umar Burley after getting a call about a person with a gunshot wound at a Motel 6 around 10 a.m. Witnesses reportedly told police the suspect, later identified as Burley, left the hotel in a U-Haul truck.

Officers followed Burley and a chase ensued, continuing out of Harrisonburg and onto Interstate 81, police said. Virginia State Police officers were able to stop the truck near the Town of Woodstock.

RELATED COVERAGE:

• Baltimore Board Of Estimates Approves Settlements In Gun Trace Task Force Cases
• Former BPD Deputy Commissioner Who Oversaw Gun Trace Task Force Said He Had No Idea Of Corruption
• Baltimore Lawyers Say City Isn't Financially Responsible For Abuses of Gun Trace Task Force
• Marilyn Mosby Flags 305 Officers For 'Integrity' Issues; GTTF Investigation Has No Time, Money Limits
• 'Small Number Of Tasks To Complete' In BPD Detective Sean Suiter's Death Investigation, Police Say
• READ MORE: Gun Trace Task Force Scandal

Burley was arrested and charged with attempted murder and malicious wounding.

The victim was taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center in serious condition, police said.

Burley and another man, Brent Matthews, were awarded nearly $8 million in settlements last month tied to the Gun Trace Task Force. Both were wrongfully imprisoned after officers planted heroin on them.

They had filed suit in 2018 against the Baltimore Police Department, the state and the officers for more than $40 million.

In:
• Shooting
• Baltimore
• Baltimore City
• Virginia