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State police investigate fatal officer-involved shooting in Strasburg

Virginia State Police

A woman was shot and killed by a police officer in Strasburg on Sunday. The Virginia State Police are investigating the shooting, as WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.

The Culpeper division of the Virginia State Police issued a press release on Monday morning about an officer-involved shooting that happened Sunday night. Around 11 p.m., somebody called 911 to report an individual [quote] "acting erratically, damaging property, and threatening people," [end quote] at a hotel on Signal Knob Drive. According to the press release, a Strasburg police officer arrived and encountered the woman who had prompted the call outside in the hotel parking lot.

The woman allegedly attacked the officer, grabbed his baton, and hit him in the head. The officer discharged his firearm, shooting the woman. She was transported to Winchester Medical Center where she died of her injuries. Her body has been taken to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Manassas for identification and autopsy. The officer was treated for minor injuries at Shenandoah Memorial Hospital and released. The Strasburg Police Chief asked the state police to look into the shooting, and the investigation is ongoing.

Randi B. Hagi first joined the WMRA team in 2019 as a freelance reporter. Her work has been featured on NPR and other NPR member stations; in The Harrisonburg Citizen, where she previously served as the assistant editor;The Mennonite; Mennonite World Review; and Eastern Mennonite University's Crossroads magazine.