WYTHE COUNTY, Va. – Authorities have charged Ricky Delk with attempted capital murder after he shot two Wythe County deputies late Tuesday night, according to a search warrant.
State police announced Thursday that Delk has been released from the hospital and is being charged with eight counts of attempted capital murder, eight counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony, and one count of discharging a firearm in an occupied dwelling.
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At about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, members of the Wythe County Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police responded after Delk’s wife called to alert them that he was armed after returning home from the Moose Lodge drunk, according to the warrant.
She also told them that he had previously served in the military and was a former police officer who suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome.
The warrant states that authorities arrived and found Delk’s mother inside the front portion of the home.
While they were inside, Delk had maneuvered behind them and fired several rounds at them with an AR-15, hitting Chief Deputy Charles Foster and Deputy Chris Coleman, according to the warrant.
Officers fired shots at Delk and hit him. Delk and the two deputies were taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment.
When they searched the home on Whippoorwill Road, authorities said they found multiple guns and cartridge cases.
Authorities were searching for “firearms, ammunition, manifest and or documentation to support the frame of mind the suspect may have had prior to and during the officer-involved shooting and or possible receipts and or documentation to support the subject’s whereabouts prior to the shooting which will indicate a motive and or premeditation of the subject’s involved.”
After the shooting, authorities noticed that several windows were open on the second floor of the home, which may have been used as a tactical position by Delk before law enforcement arrived, according to the warrant.
Both Foster and Coleman have also been released from the hospital.