Police Shooting Of Drug Suspect In Front Royal Investigated

WARREN COUNTY, VA — Members of the Northwest Virginia Regional Drug and Gang Task Force shot and seriously injured a man Thursday night in a parking lot near the intersection with Interstate 66 in Front Royal.

The task force was conducting an undercover drug operation at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday involving an alleged drug courier who had arrived from Baltimore at the parking lot in the 9800 block of Winchester Road.

As the task force members attempted to take the 32-year-old man into custody, the suspect attempted to flee in his vehicle and rammed one of the task force investigators, knocking the Frederick County Sheriff's Office investigator to the ground, according to the Virginia State Police.

The remaining task force investigators began firing at the suspect as he fled the scene. The suspect’s vehicle then ran off the road and went up an embankment before coming to a stop, the police said.

The suspect suffered a serious gunshot wound and was transported to Winchester Medical Center for treatment. He is expected to survive.

The Frederick County Sheriff's Office investigator suffered minor injuries and was transported to Warren Memorial Hospital for treatment.

One of the task force investigators who fired his weapon is a Virginia State Police special agent assigned to the Culpeper Field Office. The special agent has been placed on leave pending the investigation, the state police said.

The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Appomattox Field Office is investigating the incident and the shooting by the officer.