ETTRICK, Va. — A Virginia State University police officer was fighting for his life Sunday after being shot while responding to a call near the school’s Ettrick campus.
VSU said the officer was critically wounded in a shooting around 1:30 a.m. Sunday after responding to an on-campus disturbance. VSU police said the suspect ran off campus before shots were fired. As of Sunday evening, the suspect remained at large. No description was immediately available.
The officer, whose name has not been released, was transported to VCU Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
The campus was placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure Sunday.
In a statement posted to Facebook, Chesterfield County Police Chief Jeffrey S. Katz said his department was working with Virginia State Police and the FBI to investigate the shooting.
“CCPD stands in unwavering solidarity with our partners at Virginia State University,” Katz wrote. “We will not rest until the individual who shot their officer is brought to justice.”
Virginia State University is a historically Black public land-grant university in Chesterfield County, just a short distance south of the commonwealth capital of Richmond. As of fall 2022, the school had an enrollment of more than 4,600 students.
Chesterfield County Police asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact them at 804-748-1251 or Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.