Virginia State Police Searching For Bluefield Cop Shooter

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BLUEFIELD, VA — Virginia State Police are searching for a man who they believe is “armed and dangerous” after a police officer was shot and wounded. The officer was shot around midnight in Bluefield, Virginia.

Bluefield police are searching for Donquale Maurice Gray, 25, and said he was last seen driving a blue 2008 Toyota Yaris hatchback with West Virginia plates that read 53u 974.

Gray, whose last known address was in Bluefield, stands about 6-feet-1-inch and weighs about 185 pounds. He has brown eyes and black hair. It wasn’t immediately known what clothing he’s wearing.

Bluefield is a small town of about 5,400 people in Tazewell County. It’s about 66 miles west of Roanoke.

The shooting stemmed from a traffic stop in Bluefield around 11:45 p.m. Officer’s tried to pull over a blue Toyota Yaris for an equipment violation, state police wrote in a Facebook post. The car was heading east on U.S. Route 460 when it pulled onto the shoulder near Exit 3. Gray was in the passenger seat and a second male was in the driver’s seat.

“During the course of the traffic stop, Gray began shooting at and wounded the Bluefield, Va. Police Officer as he was standing outside the vehicle on the driver’s side,” police said.

The officer who was shot returned fire along with a second officer who had stopped to help. The driver got out and surrendered, but Gray hopped into the driver’s seat and sped off, police said. The car was found abandoned a few hours later in Bluefield, West Virginia.

The wounded officer is being treated for serious injuries at Roanoke Memorial Hospital and is expected to survive, police said.

The driver was cited for a traffic violation and released. He was not hurt.

Photo credit: Virginia State Police