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.”
