Lone Gunman Opens Fire At Virginia Greyhound Bus Station Before Being Killed

A lone gunman opened fire at a Richmond, Virginia, Greyhound bus station, killing one Virginia State trooper and wounding two civilians, before being shot dead Thursday afternoon.

The fallen trooper was identified by Virginia state police as Chad P. Dermyer, 37, a native of Jackson, Michigan. After serving four years in the United States Marine Corps, Dermyer graduated from the Virginia State Police Academy in November 2014.

According to witnesses, Dermyer was engaged in a specialized training procedure with eleven fellow officers when his encounter with the alleged gunman — also an active participant in the criminal interdiction field practical — turned deadly.

Preliminary reports state that Dermyer approached the shooter near the doors of the bus terminal. The state trooper then exchanged words with the suspect before the suspect produced a firearm and opened fire, hitting Dermyer multiple times.

After this short barrage, the suspect then traded rounds with two nearby state troopers before eventually retreating, wounded, to the terminal’s cafe. At this point the belligerent gunman was apprehended and transported to a local VCU Hospital.

Both the suspect and Dermyer would later die at VCU Hospital. Fortunately, the two wounded civilians’ injuries were listed as “non life-threatening.”

Those in the midst of the chaotic scene described it as both terrifying and shocking.

Najee Wilson, 18, of New Jersey heard gunshots while waiting for her bus to arrive. Wilson told the Associated Press:

“We heard a lot of people screaming.” “It definitely was a scary experience.”

Another jilted bystander, Leigha Schilling, who was at the Richmond station on a bus trip overlay from New York to South Carolina, also told the Associated Press:

“I was smoking a cigarette outside the station Thursday when I heard banging. I went back inside briefly and saw people lying on the ground and what appeared to be blood on the floor. A security guard ordered me to get on the floor and I ran back outside, where I heard several shots.”

Charles Leazott, who works at Electrical Equipment Company, across the street from the bus station, told the AP:

“I glanced out my office window and saw, no exaggeration, what looked to me to be every police officer in the city of Richmond.”

Leazott further stated that emergency teams “ran in with stretchers and, in what seemed like an amazingly short period of time, they were coming back out with people on the stretchers.”

As mentioned earlier, this deadly shooting occurred during a field-training session, and the unidentified gunman was part of the practice. No information has yet been released as to what words were exchanged between the slain trooper and his deceased shooter.

Richmond Police Chief, Alfred Durham speculated Dermyer’s shooting may have been the result of a growing negative public sentiment towards law enforcement. Durham further intimated to the BBC that peace officers have become targets.

“It’s unfortunate these are the days we’re living in, where folks want to harm law enforcement.”

State Trooper Chad P. Dermyer is survived by his wife and two young children. A Greyhound spokesperson issued a statement Thursday stating that the Richmond Greyhound Station would “be closed until further notice.”

Regarding the investigation, Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corrine Geller told ABC NEWS,“At this time the investigation remains ongoing. We will of course follow-up as information becomes available.”

The Virginia Greyhound shooting is yet another in a string of deadly public shootings to have taken place in 2016.

[Photo by Steve Helber/AP Images]