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Virginia police: 3 hurt in bus station shooting; suspect in custody

 
Police officers gather outside the Greyhound Bus Station in Richmond, Va. Thursday, after a shooting inside the terminal. Virginia State Police said at least two troopers responding to a shooting at a Richmond bus station and a civilian have been taken to a hospital. Spokeswoman Corinne Geller said the shooting suspect was in custody Thursday afternoon. [Dean Hoffmeyer/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP]
Police officers gather outside the Greyhound Bus Station in Richmond, Va. Thursday, after a shooting inside the terminal. Virginia State Police said at least two troopers responding to a shooting at a Richmond bus station and a civilian have been taken to a hospital. Spokeswoman Corinne Geller said the shooting suspect was in custody Thursday afternoon. [Dean Hoffmeyer/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP]
Published March 31, 2016

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia State Police say two troopers responding to a shooting at a Richmond bus station and a civilian have been taken to a hospital.

Spokeswoman Corinne Geller said the shooting suspect was in custody Thursday afternoon. She had no details on the condition of the troopers or the civilian. It was not clear if the three had been shot or had received other injuries.

Multiple patients from the shooting were taken to VCU Medical Center, the hospital said in an email.

Broadcast images showed numerous police cars and heavily armed officers at the scene.

Brendan Hamilton told The Richmond Times-Dispatch he was about to walk into the station when he heard two loud bangs, then saw flashes of light. He told the newspaper he then heard at least five more bangs. People then started to run out of the building, said Hamilton, 28, who was visiting from Baltimore.

Vincent Smith was working next door to the Greyhound station when he heard sirens and saw police cars buzzing by.

"The police units just poured in like a river," said Smith, who works at the U-Haul Moving and Storage facility. "I went to the end of the lot and there must have been 30 units just a block away."

Smith said he saw police officers carrying shields and assault weapons. An officer came by and ordered him and his co-workers to stay inside and lock the doors until they're told it was safe again. By late afternoon, he said he had been locked inside for about an hour and a half.

City Council member Reva Trammell was at the scene of the shooting and called it "the saddest day in the city of Richmond."

"State troopers doing their job and innocent people shot," she added. "Why? This was a senseless act."

Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones issued a statement saying he was being briefed on the situation. The Greyhound Bus Station is located west of the city's downtown area, across from Richmond's minor league baseball stadium and within a former industrial area. It is located on a main thoroughfare connecting a residential district to the stadium and nearby restaurants.

Greyhound issued a statement saying that the Richmond, Virginia, station would be "closed until further notice."