RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A suspect has been taken into custody following an overnight manhunt in the fatal shooting of a Virginia State Police special agent, authorities said Saturday.
Virginia State Police said in an emailed statement that Travis A. Ball of Richmond is being held without bond on charges that include malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Additional charges are pending.
The 27-year-old Ball is charged in the shooting of Special Agent Michael T. Walter, who died early Saturday at VCU Medical Center in Richmond. Ball was arrested at a residence in Northumberland County about an hour after Walter died.
Walter was shot Friday night while on patrol with a City of Richmond police officer. The officers observed a Chevrolet Cobalt pull up to a curb on Redd Street and then pulled in behind the car. The Richmond officer went to speak to the driver. Walter approached the passenger side of the car when a “single shot rang out,” according to the statement. Ball then took off after the shooting, sparking an overnight manhunt by eight local, state, federal law enforcement agencies.
The statement said Richmond officer was not injured. A handgun was recovered at the scene near the Chevrolet Cobalt.
Walter was assigned to the Virginia State Police BCI Richmond Field Office’s Drug Enforcement Section and routinely partnered with the Richmond Police Department on investigative and patrol operatives, the statement said.
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