25-year-old suspect injured after officer-involved shooting

Editor’s note on March 1, 2023: Joshua Sprouse was acquitted of the charges related to this case. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity in Powhatan County Circuit Court in October 2020.

POWHATAN, Va. (WWBT) - A Powhatan County Sheriff’s Deputy is on administrative leave while officials investigate a shooting that sent a suspect who opened fire on authorities to the hospital.

According to the Powhatan County Sheriff’s Office, deputies and Virginia State Troopers (VSP) responded to a home on Three Bridge Road Sunday around 7 p.m. They received a report that 25-year-old Joshua Sprouse threatened to kill members of his family and law enforcement via text message.

They eventually tracked him to his residence at Three Bridge Road, where he was firing guns into the air.

“We are out in the country, so we hear guns all the time," said neighbor Katie Bayer. "It was kind of concerning because it was close.”

Bayer and her family live right across the street from Sprouse. She didn’t think anything of the gunfire until it kept going for at least an hour.

“We could hear that there were different sounds going on, so there were different weapons,” she said.

Another neighbor said Sprouse was shooting towards the woods in the back of the house, and even at cars driving by.

Law enforcement eventually arrived, blocking off the street and tried to talk Sprouse down from his shooting frenzy. Investigators say the suspect eventually set his sights on a deputy, who he attempted to shoot.

The deputy opened fire, wounding Sprouse.

Bayer, who has only lived across from Sprouse for a month, says she had never met the suspect.

“If we had gone to politely ask him to keep it down, that would’ve been really bad for us. And to think, we were just watching this from our porch. We were at the window, so I’m just really glad that he didn’t notice we were aware of his presence,” she added.

Sprouse was taken to a local hospital for surgery. The deputy involved in the shooting was placed on routine administrative leave and VSP is investigating.

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