Virginia State Police special agent shot in Petersburg

PETERSBURG, Va. (WWBT) - Virginia State Police are investigating who shot one of their special agents while he was parked in an unmarked vehicle in Petersburg.

City of Petersburg Police were assisting with the investigation on Friday, taking photos of bullet holes in other cars and talking to neighbors.

Police say at 10:48 p.m. Thursday, someone in a white SUV fired “several shots” at the special agent’s vehicle that was on N. Whitehill Drive.

“At least one bullet shattered the rear window and grazed the special agent while he was seated in the driver’s seat,” state police said in a news release Friday afternoon.

A state police spokesperson says the special agent initially attempted to drive himself to the hospital, but dispatch told him to pull over and wait for EMS. He had already driven seven minutes by himself.

EMS picked up the special agent near the corner of East Wythe Street and South Jefferson Street. He was treated and released from the hospital.

“The special agent was in Petersburg for an ongoing criminal investigation,” police said. “No shots were fired by law enforcement at the scene. There were no other reported injuries.”

Residents close to where the shooting happened told NBC12 that they heard the gunfire, and it sounded like an automatic rifle.

Reverend Tyrone Jackson Jr.’s mother has lived in the neighborhood since 1989, when “it used to be a quiet retirement community.”

He said the neighborhood has changed a lot over the years and that he worries about her living there now.

“Definitely from 1989 to now, the neighborhood has changed drastically,” said Jackson Jr. “Crime rate is up, gun violence is up, you know, things of that nature. I can recall one time a stray bullet went through my mom’s glass window.”

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Virginia State Police at 804-750-8458. You can also dial #77 from a cell phone.

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