Funeral service held for fallen Wintergreen Police officer

WARNING: Language may be explicit during the ceremony.

WINTERGREEN, Va. (WDBJ) - The funeral and visitation for a Wintergreen police officer killed in the line of duty took about half an hour Monday at noon at the Augusta Memorial Park.

The service was for Officer Mark Christopher ‘Chris’ Wagner who was killed June 16 while responding to a call about an assault.

The burial takes place following the service at Augusta Memorial Park. The visitation, funeral and burial are open to the public.

Governor Glenn Youngkin ordered flags across the commonwealth to be flown at half staff Monday.

The governor’s order reads:

In accordance with the authority vested in me as Governor, I hereby order that the flags of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Virginia be flown at half-staff on all state and local buildings and grounds in the Commonwealth of Virginia in Memory and Respect of Wintergreen Police Officer Mark Christopher Wagner, II who was killed in the line of duty.

I hereby order that the flags shall be lowered at sunrise on Monday, June 26, 2023 and remain at half-staff until sunset.

Virginia State Police have charged Daniel M. Barmak of Maryland with capital murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and two felony counts of malicious wounding for the June 16 incident that left Wagner dead and two other people hurt

Wagner had responded to reports of the assault of the other men, and was killed during a struggle with Barmak after, police say, Barmak took Wagner’s department-issued handgun and shot and killed the officer.

According to Wintergreen Police, Officer Wagner served seven years with the Massanutten Police Department, starting as a gate attendant and then becoming a police officer after graduating from the Central Shenandoah Criminal Justice Academy in May 2019.