YORK COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — A road-rage investigation turned into a shooting Wednesday in York County as a police vehicle was riddled with at least 100 bullet holes in what was described as “an ambush” on James City County Police officers, law enforcement officials said.
One James City County Police officer was injured, and a man faces more than a half-dozen charges, including attempted second-degree murder. York-Poquoson Sheriff Ron Montgomery said he expects more charges as the investigation continues into the incident.
James City County Police and the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office went to the 300 block of Mark’s Pond Way in York County to investigate what was described as a road-rage incident that took place earlier Wednesday in James City County.
Upon arrival to the residence, a man, identified during a news conference as 35-year-old Andrew Susalis, opened fire on James City County Police officers from the upper floor, law enforcement officials said, firing multiple rounds from a rifle and striking a police car. Susalis was taken into custody and the area was closed.
At the news conference, the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office showed images of a James City County police car with dozens of bullet holes. Officers did not return fire, officials said, because they could not determine where the shots were coming from.
“We counted, conservatively, 100 holes in that car,” Montgomery said, “just a cursory count.”
Responding to ‘road-rage’ incident
James City County Police Chief Mark Jamison said its officers initially had been responding to multiple calls of a motorist being shot by someone driving a light-blue sedan in what was described as a road-rage incident around 11:49 a.m.
Jamison said the sedan was driving behind the victim driving westbound about one mile from the intersection of Anderson’s Corner in the Toano area of James City County.
He said “two, up to four rounds” were found on the victim’s vehicle. No one was injured in that incident, which is still under investigation, Jamison said.
100+ rounds fired at officers from about 210 feet away
James City County officers, getting information about the sedan, went to the address listed for the registered owner of the vehicle in the 300 block of Marks Pond Way, in the Skimino area of York County, about seven miles away. Officers arrived there at 12:09 p.m., when Jamison said they were “immediately engaged by an unknown suspect firing a rifle in the direction of officers,” on the roadway about 210 feet away.
Officers at the time were attempting to step out of the vehicle when the shooting started, Jamison said, and one officer was able to run back to the vehicle.
Another officer, as the gunfire continued, ran around the side of the vehicle and laid down.
“He was on the inside of that vehicle, near the curb, the entire, approximately five minutes of shooting that was occurring, until the shooting stopped,” Jamison said. “Once they got the suspect in custody, they were able to get him from there and our medics were on the scene and were able to administer any aid that he needed, as well as the other officers.”
He said the officers at the scene took cover and were not able to return fire, as they were not able to determine where the shots were coming from. Montgomery said the first of his deputy’s vehicles showed up as the shots were being fired, and “within a short period of time,” there were at least a dozen of York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office vehicles at the scene, “along with a lot of response from James City as well.”
Five minutes after the shots began, Jamison said a man came out into the yard and surrendered to officers at the scene and was taken into custody without further incident. A second person was temporarily detained and is cooperating with law enforcement, Montgomery said, while Jamison said the residence was secured and turned over to the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office. Some rounds, Montgomery said, went into a home in the neighborhood that was occupied.
Jamison said of its four officers directly involved in the incident, one suffered an injury from two bullet fragments, and the other three were not injured. The injured officer, he said, was treated and released from a local hospital.
‘No one signs up’ for this
He said “no one signs up to take over 100 rounds from a rifle,” though they know things like that can happen.
“This is something that you don’t expect to run into when you’re a police officer,” Jamison said, “to pull up on a scene and take multiple rounds from a rifle inside a car, and you’re fighting for your life at that moment. It’s something we never expect to experience.
“Our officers today responded with bravery, courage and unbelievable resolve in order to be able to survive this incident,” Jamison said. “They survived this incident because there was an attempt on their life. If you look at this car again, you will see, there is no doubt what this individual had in mind.”
He said the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office responded immediately to the scene and worked the incident together. He said an advantage that aided them in responding to the incidents is that York County, James City County, Poquoson and the city of Williamsburg share a 911 center, “so as these calls are coming in, the James City County dispatchers are right there in proximity to York County, which also enhances our ability to respond faster.”
Montgomery said he was shocked to learn what happened and “terribly concerned” that officers were being shot at.
“When I first received that picture [of the James City County Police vehicle], I thought it was incredible that we didn’t have further loss of life or a more serious injury than we had,” Montgomery said, “so I was very grateful for that.”
Beginnings of the investigation
James City County Police is handling the investigation into the alleged road-rage incident, while the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office is managing the investigation into the shooting directed toward James City County Police in York County.
Montgomery said he expected the investigation at the scene to continue into the evening to process that scene, and that they obtained a search warrant for the home of the suspect. He said they have seized the weapon, and would work with ATF to determine how the weapon used in the York County shooting was obtained.
Montgomery said one of the two homes closest to where the James City County Police vehicles were located was the one that had bullet holes and was occupied at the time of the shooting in York County.
Jamison said he did not have the charges into the alleged road-rage incident at this time, citing the ongoing investigation.
“That will be included as part of this whole incident,” Jamison said.
He said none of the four officers directly involved are on administrative leave, as they did not shoot at the suspect.
“Other than being treated to make sure that they are OK physically, we’ll certainly work with them and help them through this,” Jamison said. “This is a traumatic incident to go through.”
Susalis is facing charges of two counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, two count of reckless handling of a firearm, one count destruction of property and one count of shooting into an occupied dwelling.
“I will tell you that these charges will probably be added onto in the future,” Montgomery said, “and more than likely, through the course of our investigation, will be upgraded, would be my guess, in my conversations with the Commonwealth’s Attorney.
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