One suspect in custody in shootings

Story by Chris Graham
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An Afton teen in custody in connection with two shootings in Waynesboro early Thursday morning is considered a suspect in a series of shootings that were reported along a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 64 in Albemarle County.

Slade Woodson, 19, was taken into custody upon the execution of a search warrant at a home on Yonder Hill Farm Road in Albemarle County at 4:48 a.m. today, Virginia State Police Superintendent Steven Flaherty said in an 11 a.m. press conference in Charlottesville.

The execution of the search warrant was not done without incident. An armed man confronted tactical teams carrying out the warrant. The man, whose name has not been released, was shot by an Albemarle County police officer.

The man was airlifted to the University of Virginia Medical Center, where he is being treated for his injuries.

The police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into the incident.

Woodson himself was taken into custody without incident, Flaherty said.

He is currently being held in Albemarle County on felony charges related to shootings in Waynesboro on the 200 block of North Commerce Avenue and at the DuPont Community Credit Union on Lucy Lane.

Woodson is considered a suspect in the six confirmed shootings on I-64 in Albemarle County, Woodson said.

Woodson is the owner of a 1974 AMC Gremlin that matches the description of a Gremlin witnessed in a security video from the credit union that was disseminated in the news media yesterday afternoon, Flaherty said.

Investigators continue to believe that there was more than one person involved in the shootings, Flaherty said. He did not release information about other possible suspects.

Woodson was “familiar to police,” Flaherty said in response to a reporter’s question about whether Woodson had a prior criminal record.

The shootings have not been tied to any known gang activity, Flaherty said.