2 deputies shot responding to domestic dispute in Virginia
STERLING, Va. -- Authorities say two sheriff's deputies have been shot while responding to a domestic dispute in northern Virginia. The injuries are serious but not expected to be life-threatening.
The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office tweeted that the shooting occurred in Sterling, which is about 30 miles northwest of Washington.
WRC-TV in Washington reports that the shooting occurred shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday.
Police said the deputies were shot on the 46,000 block of Hollow Mountain Place, CBS affiliate WUSA-TV reports. Officials held a press briefing Sunday night with updates.
WUSA-TV cites Sheriff Michael Chapman as saying the dispute involved was between a father and his 19-year-old daughter. Three deputies were on scene to try to de-escalate the situation for about an hour. Things became heated when deputies followed the father upstairs in the residence to make an arrest, WUSA-TV writes.
"From what we can gather, and again, this is preliminary information, he reached for a gun and almost simultaneously, he was tazed, and as he was being apprehended, he managed to get several shots off," said Sheriff Chapman.
A neighbor told WUSA-TV that he heard what he claims was a "boom sound" and saw the deputies being taken away by stretcher.
Chapman said the suspect shot a female deputy in the leg and also hit a male deputy in the arm and both legs. Both were rushed to a nearby hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. It was the third deputy who took the suspect into custody.
A suspect is in custody and WUSA-TV writes that the suspect was not shot. Kraig Troxell, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, says there is no threat to the community.
A WUSA-TV reporter posted an image from what appears to be the scene:
"I'm just grateful, with all things being considered, that it's ... turned out as good as it has," Chapman said.
WUSA-TV reports that the sheriff did not immediately identify the deputies or the suspect.
Apparently there were two other people in the house -- the mother and a 16-year-old son -- when the incident took place, according to WUSA-TV.
