A South Boston man committed suicide early Monday morning after holding police at bay for nearly two hours, according to South Boston Police Chief Jim Hall.
Malcolm Sherwood Young, 31, who lived in apartment 4-D of the Tanglewlde Apartments, is believed to have fatally shot himself with a high-powered rifle, according to the ongoing investigation.
During the violent rampage, Young shot at police officers and struck three police cruisers, a private vehicle, and a house on Wilborn Avenue, police said.
He is believed to have fired 32 times from inside and outside his apartment, but no bystander was injured, according to the investigation.
No shots, including tear gas canisters, were fired by any of the police officers during the incident, Chief Hall pointed out.
"The police officers from all jurisdictions acted in the most professional manner under the adversity of gunfire," Chief Hall said. "They are to be commended for their acts during this unfortunate incident."
Beginning of the End
The incident began at 12:38 a.m. when SBPD Officer M.B. Lawhorn approached Young's pickup truck which was parked in the Crestar Bank parking lot in downtown South Boston, according to the investigation. The lot is also adjacent to the South Boston Police Department.
After a search of the vehicle, Lawhorn charged Young with a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed weapon. Young then returned to his apartment and called the South Boston 911 line in a "very upset" manner, Chief Hall said.
Young demanded to speak to Lawhorn and the dispatcher transferred the call. Exact details of that phone conversation are not available, since any time an incoming call is transferred from the 911 line, it is no longer subjected to being automatically recorded, Chief Hall explained.
Seconds after the call, several residents of the Crescent Drive area called 911 to report gunshots being fired in the area, he added.
Officers Lawhorn and Randy Redd responded to the scene, arriving a short while later. Lawhorn's cruiser was immediately struck by one round fired by Young, according to the investigation.
The shot penetrated the front section of the hood, just above the driver's side headlight, and lodged in the engine compartment, police said.
Meanwhile, other law enforcement officers were rushing to the scene as backup, including officers of the Virginia State Police, Halifax County Sheriff's Department, and the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
Virginia State Trooper D.J. Cline pulled up a short while later in his police cruiser and attempted to shine his spotlight towards the subject. Young responded by shooting at Cline's cruiser twice with a 30-30 caliber rifle, police said.
Two rounds penetrated the right front portion of the vehicle's hood, just under the corner of the front windshield. Young was apparently attempting to shoot out the spotlight, police believe. Cline scrambled out of his vehicle and was not injured.
Young continued to fire the rifle, but no return fire was given, as arriving police began to surround the building. "We wanted to contain the situation, hopefully diffuse what was going on, and to end it without any of us, any bystander, or the subject himself from getting hurt," Chief Hall pointed out.
At one point after the building was surrounded, a single, steady barrage of eight rounds was fired from the apartment by Young. One round struck the cruiser of Deputy Keith Tribble of the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
The round penetrated the right front portion of the vehicle, destroying the battery and lodging in the engine, police said.
Tribble, who was crouched on the opposite side of the vehicle on the left side of the engine was not injured. Police officers are trained to use the engine area of the vehicle or a tire as cover during such a situation.
Damages to the deputy's vehicle were estimated at approximately $800, according to Major Ray Link of the sheriff's department.
A 1994 Mercury owned by Tiffany Lea Pratt, Young's next door neighbor, sustained 18 shots fired by Young, according to SBPD Lt. Rick Loftis.
"Two nearby residents counted every shot they heard and they each told us they heard 32," Lt. Loftis said. "Over half of them were directed at Ms. Pratt's vehicle."
Also struck during the episode was the residence of Dean Bruno at 1803 Wilborn Avenue, which is located one block to the east. SBPD Officer Jeff Knight recovered a round from inside the dwelling in an upstairs bedroom. It had penetrated an exterior shutter and wall, the interior wall of one room, before landing on the floor of a back bedroom, according to the investigation. No one in the Bruno family was injured.
Reports are still being investigated into other nearby homes and apartment buildings that are also believed to have been struck by Young's gunfire, police said.
"This was certainly an unfortunate situation," Chief Hall reflected. "But the good that came out of this is that no one else got hurt. It very easily could have ended differently."
Decision Time for Police
Well into an hour after police responded to the scene, a new wrinkle appeared in the rapidly evolving incident: Smoke appeared from the front of the apartment.
Firefighters and fire trucks from the South Boston Fire Department were staged nearby, as were rescue personnel from the Halifax County Rescue Squad. However, as flames began to show and more smoke appeared, the "waiting out" method was being pushed, Chief Hall said.
"First and foremost, I have the responsibility to protect the safety of the law enforcement officers and firefighters," Chief Hall explained.
He had already asked for a tactical team from the Virginia State Police, as well as their armored vehicle, to be brought to the scene.
Officers had already managed to evacuate most of the apartments. However, a resident to the left of Young's apartment later jumped from his window and ran to safety. The building, which is built into the side of a hill, has four units on the top level where Young lived, and four units underneath.
As the flames began to increase, Chief Hall gave the go ahead for air pack-clad firefighters, but also sent in Officers Lawhorn and Redd as security for the firefighters. The police officers were also given air packs and followed right behind the first firefighter in a crawling position, with their weapons drawn.
That tactic was used as standard procedure for such a volatile situation, in case an ambush situation had been set up, police explained.
Minutes later, Young's body was found on a bed in the back bedroom. His body did not sustain fire damage, as the fire was contained generally to the front portion of the apartment, according to police.
Investigators, including arson specialists and the Evidence Collection Van from the Virginia State Police were called to the scene. The investigation is being headed by Special Agent Larry Bishop.
The exact cause of the fire is still being studied. Young apparently started the fire, but as to a possible motive, Chief Hall declined to speculate.
Aftermath of the Standoff
After the fire was extinguished and the area was deemed secure, curious and relieved residents withdrew from the confines of their homes and apartments.
Young's body was left where it was found through the night, until the state police investigators and the Medical Examiner could complete their tasks.
Officer Lawhorn rested in both fatigue and relief on the concrete driveway of a nearby apartment, his police-issued shotgun gingerly stretched across his legs. Chief Hall walked over to offer encouragement to the first year officer, who graduated top in his class at the Central Virginia Law Enforcement Training Academy.
Officer Redd, who was also the initial target of Young's aggressions, paced back and forth in relief nearby, the prospect of near-disaster ingrained once and forever.
Asked what he was going to do as soon as his shift ended, Redd quickly responded, "I'm going to go home and hug my wife...and then I'm going to hug my twins."
Sunny skies and warmer temperatures yesterday transformed much of Monday's snowfall into slush and water and except for scores of highway accidents, winter's first serious punch of the new season was only slightly disruptive since schools are closed for the holidays.
Deepest snow fell in the northern and western areas of the county where as much as three inches were recorded near Volens. Virginia Department of Highways maintenance crews along with private contractors went to work scraping and spreading an estimated 427 tons of salt, 67 tons of calcium and 507 tons of sand and by late yesterday, most had parked their vehicles and gone home.
What few maintenance trucks that were on the roads last night were spreading abrasives on icy spots.
Virginia State Police responded to numerous mishaps caused by slick road surfaces and while many of those detailed reports had not been filed by last evening, none were believed to have caused serious injury to the occupants.
Perhaps the most serious accident occurred on Highway 96 near Virgilina were a tractor-trailer rig and a van collided. A Halifax County Rescue Squad spokesperson said that a woman passenger in the van was transported to Halifax Regional Hospital for unspecified injuries.
By DAVID REED
Associated Press Writer
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - A storm packing gusty winds, rain and snow blew into the Northeast today after dumping more than a foot of snow on parts of the South, causing hundreds of traffic accidents and scattered power outages.
The snow was less than predicted, but more than enough to annoy Southerners not used to driving on it.
''Everybody is still running 70 mph just like they always do,'' Johnny Lawson, a snowplow operator in Virginia, said during a roadside break Monday. ''It's a hurry-up-and-wait world. They hurry up, wreck and then have to wait for a tow truck.''
By today, the storm had arrived in New England. In its wake, more than 150 accidents were reported in northern South Carolina, including one that killed a 22-year-old woman. Some 600 accidents were reported in the Charlotte, N.C., area alone, while funeral homes in Salisbury, N.C., even postponed services to keep people off the roads.
Airports across the region delayed or canceled numerous flights.
In Calera, Ala., a Greyhound bus with 41 passengers collided with a pickup truck at an intersection slickened by rain and snow Monday night. About 30 people were injured, two critically.
Farther north, a Delta jet with 138 people aboard skidded off a snowy runway at Newburgh, N.Y., late Monday, with the nose sinking into 2 feet of mud. No one aboard Flight 716 from Atlanta was injured.
Heavy rain and strong winds caused minor flooding along the New Jersey coast. Heavy rain also hit Florida, where flooding problems persisted in the Tampa Bay area.
In the Virginia mountains, as much as 15 inches of snow fell.
''This is good news for me,'' Lawson said as he looked at the snow-clogged sky. ''There's going to be enough work for three straight days, I'd say.''
The conditions also boosted a business not usually thought of when it comes to the South - skiing. Snowshoe Mountain Resort in West Virginia was touting a base of up to 74 inches.
''This will start off the new year in a grand way'' said Joe Stevens, Snowshoe spokesman.
Some residents looked at the snowfall as a post-Christmas present.
''I was going to drive to Spartanburg or Greenville to get snow if I had to,'' said Michelle Johnson, 29, of Clinton, S.C. ''I told a friend of mine I had to wait a whole year for this.''
She dodged snowballs from her 3-year-old daughter, Aamen, and two young cousins while waiting for her car to warm up. ''Stop! That ice is cold, y'all,'' she ordered, with only a hint of seriousness.
Three Danville duckhunters found themselves up to their necks in deep trouble yesterday morning when their 16-foot aluminum boat capsized in the icy waters of the Dan River about 1 1/2 miles from Route 58. One, a teenager, managed to reach shore and summons help while the other two remained in the river hanging on to a tree for more than two hours before being rescued.
"I can't hold on no longer," one weakened victim cried out to Winfred Tate, the assistant chief of the Ringgold Volunteer Fire Department who was among the first to reach the accident scene.
To reach the two victims still in the river, Tate said he had to drive more than a mile down a muddy road he described as a "slop hole".
Tate said he began to encourage the victim while throwing out a line and life jackets but it was not until neighbors brought in a second rescue boat that the two victims were reached.
None were wearing life jackets.
Tate said that one of the men finally managed to grab a rope and be pulled safely to shore while the other, whose leg was hung in the tree, was secured with a rope and vest and dragged to shore by those in the boat.
Said to be in their late 50s or early 60s, the two oldest were wrapped in blankets to prevent hypothermia from setting in and taken to Danville Regional Hospital for treatment. By late yesterday, all three were said to have been released.
The trio had set out from Milton around 7 a.m. and traveled downstream to a point near the Halifax and Pittsylvania county line when their boat hit an object and capsized about two hours later. Rescuers managed to retrieve the boat but much of their gear, including one shotgun, was lost.
Assisting in the rescue were units with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, The Davnille Life Saving Crew and the Pittsylvania County Sheriff's Department.
Halifax County High and Person High of Roxboro will play in the Comet gym at 7:30 p.m. Friday for the championship of the First Federal Savings Bank Holiday Classic--provided, of course, that the weather cooperates.
The weather was very much an adverse factor Saturday, when the finals of the tournament and the consolation game were supposed to have been played.
The snow then caused the three visiting teams all to have to reverse course and return to home base.
Subsequently, the consolation parties, Northern Durham and Laurel Park, elected to skip the game entirely after it had to be postponed, thus leaving the Comets and Rockets to play the single game Friday night.
The Comets will be striving to win their second straight First Federal Classic championship.
This will be the third meeting of the still young season for Halifax County and Person. They split their two previous games, each winning on its own home court.
The First Federal windup follows on the heels of an unusual tourney at Northern Vance High School of Henderson, N.C., Monday and Tuesday.
Oddly, it didn't snow there Monday night, and they went ahead and played the opening games. The Comets lost their game--sort of.
Coach Don Thompson had decided ahead of time that this would be an opportunity for him to play some of his less experienced players, hoping that this would be beneficial to the players and the team down the road.
Playing without Ben Rand, Maurice Wilkins, Mikal Townsend, Jasper Pounds and Robert Perkins, the Comets lost to Bonner Academy, 67-49.
"I'm using this tournament to give our players some game experience," he said. "We played a very talented and athletic team."
And Thompson feels the tactic will pay dividends.
"I saw some good things from some of our players who have played very little thus far," he said.
"I believe this experience will enable us to rely on our depth in January and February."
Both teams shot the ball well, the Comets hitting 49 percent of their shots to 50 percent for Bonner. Other categories didn't pan out as well, as Bonner held a 29-21 rebounding edge and made eight fewer turnovers, 20-12.
Dominic King led the scoring for the Comets with 13 points, and was followed by Henry Weston with nine, Justin Saunders with eight, Shaunta Chisholm with six, Kerry Clark and Stacey Bagbey four each, Jeremy Jacobs three and Jemel Green two.Thompson said he planned to restore his full team to action in last night's game.
And, of course, there is no doubt that the Comets will be at as full strength as possible against Person on Friday.
Anna Lucille James of Riverside Health Care Center in Danville died Saturday, December 13, 1997. She was 85 years of age at the time of her death.
Mrs. James was born April 29, 1912 in Yadkin County, NC the daughter of Arthur Swain and Callie Denkins Swain and was married to Norman Guy James. She was a member of the Pentecostal Holiness faith and was a member of the Pocahontas and had worked for Dan River Mills, Inc.
Survivors include one son, Earl S. 'Jack' James of Jacksonville, FL; one daughter, Mary J. Brandon of Alton; two sisters, Hattie Swain of Danville and Ruth Gayle of Copperscove, TX.; eight grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by one son, Arthur T. James and two brothers, Curtis R. and Fred Swain.
Graveside services for Mrs. James were held at Highland Burial Park in Danville on Monday, December 15 at 2 p.m. with Rev. John Meadows officiating.
Lucy Leadbetter Harper of Madisonville died Thursday, December 25, 1997 at Woodview Nursing Home. She was 97 years of age at the time of her death.
Mrs. Harper was born in Charlotte County, the daughter of Henry C. and Addie Ramsey Leadbetter, and was the wife of the late Mebane S. Harper. She was a life long member of Salem Baptist Church of Madisonville.
Survivors include three sons, Larry R. Harper of Lynchburg, Lewis Harper of Appomattox, and Carroll S. Harper of Cullen; one daughter, Mildred H. Moore of South Boston; nine grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and one sister, Eula Clark.
Graveside funeral services were held Saturday, December 27 at 2 p.m. in Salem Baptist Church Cemetery conducted by Rev. Anthony Reeves.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the Charlotte County Rescue Squad.
Grayling Oral Terry of Asheboro, NC died Monday, December 29, 1997 at Randolph Hospital at the age of 42.
He is survived by his mother: Delannie L. Terry of South Boston; his father, Thurman H. Terry of Chase City.
Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time, and will be announced later by Brooks Funeral Home, South Boston.