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Botetourt County deputy shot at, suspect found dead in the woods, authorities say

Incident happened early Wednesday morning

Pictures show shots fired at a Botetourt County deputy's patrol vehicle early on May 20, 2020. (Botetourt County Sheriff's Office)

BOTETOURT COUNTY, Va. – What started as a call for a domestic disturbance ended with a man dying from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot on Wednesday morning in Botetourt County.

At 1:28 a.m., 911 received a call about a domestic disturbance in the 1600 block of Pico Road in the northern part of Botetourt County.

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Deputies responding were informed that a person involved had made threats of violence toward another person and towards law enforcement. Also, a gun was fired at the scene, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

When they arrived at Pico Road, deputies were told the man had left in a white Ford pick-up truck.

That truck was then found in the 1500 block of Davis Run.

When a deputy approached the truck, the man shot at him, hitting his patrol vehicle multiple times, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Once that happened, the Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team and the Virginia State Police Tactical Team, came to the scene.

While deputies were able to call the man, he refused to negotiate and ended the call, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Multiple times a negotiator tried to reestablish communication; however, the attempts were not successful.

The Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team conducted a search of a wooded area near where the deputy was fired upon where deputies found a 41-year-old man who was unresponsive and had suffered from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office said that no officers fired their weapons and none were injured in the incident.

The body is now at the medical examiner’s office in Roanoke for examination, an autopsy and positive identification.

This investigation remains ongoing at this time.


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