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One in custody after Thursday night shooting outside of Embassy Inn in Roanoke

Sterling D. Whitfield, Sr was arrested Friday just after noon

Sterling D. Whitfield (Roanoke Police Department)

ROANOKE, Va.UPDATE - July 1, 2022, at 12:50 p.m:

A man is in custody following a shooting Thursday night on Melrose Avenue in Roanoke.

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On Thursday at about 10:30 p.m., responding officers located a man inside a business with what appeared to be a serious gunshot wound.

Roanoke Fire-EMS transported the man to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment.

As they investigated, officers determined the suspect in the shooting was Sterling D. Whitfield, Sr., 51, of Roanoke.

Preliminary investigations indicated a verbal altercation between the two men escalated to the shooting, authorities said.

Whitfield, Sr. fled the scene in a vehicle before officers arrived, and the officers said they immediately began looking for Whitfield, Sr.

Later near the scene, officers said they saw Whitfield’s vehicle driving near the scene, and positively identified the driver as Whitfield.

Police reported that they tried to pull Whitfield over, but he began accelerating away from them.

Officers began chasing Whitfield in a vehicle pursuit that ended at Country Club Drive NW where Whitfield crashed, then attempted to flee the scene, according to police.

Authorities said they chased Whitfield on foot briefly before taking him into custody.

Whitfield was arrested and charged with malicious wounding, brandishing, abduction, hit-and-run and felony eluding, authorities said.

Whitfield is currently in custody at the Roanoke City Jail.

Police are still investigating the incident.


ORIGINAL STORY - July 1, 2022, at 9:53 a.m.

A man is in the hospital after a shooting outside the Embassy Inn on Melrose Ave, according to the Roanoke City Police Department.

The shooting happened just before 10:30 p.m. on Thursday.

According to police, the shooting occurred after an argument between the victim and the suspect.

We are working on learning more about the victim’s condition.

Authorities say police apprehended the suspect on Friday morning.

The shooting is still an ongoing investigation.


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Alli Graham came aboard the digital team as an evening digital content producer in June 2022.