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Who Is The State Trooper Shot In The Richmond Shooting? Authorities Aren't Saying Much

A Virginia State Trooper was shot on Thursday at the North Boulevard Greyhound bus station in Richmond, Virginia this afternoon. Emergency vehicles were called to the scene around 2:45 p.m. ET after multiple shots were reportedly fired. Police declined to confirm who the state trooper shot in the Richmond shooting was in a news conference, but did state that he had been rushed to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, according to Virginia State Police Spokeswoman Corinne Geller. Two civilians were also injured and taken to the hospital. The wounded trooper's family was notified and were reported to be on their way to the VCU Medical Center at press time.

The Virginia State Troopers were reportedly at the North Boulevard bus station for counter-drug training exercises. When the exercises were completed, the troopers began approaching civilians (another stage of their training) when a male suspect approached the trooper in question and shot him in the chest. No motive has been released, although sources have claimed that the suspect was a mentally disturbed individual.

According to police, the suspect was engaged in conversation with the officer when he suddenly opened fire. Two other troopers returned fire and fatally shot the suspect. Corinne Geller of the Virginia State Police confirmed that the officer was wearing a dark blue utility uniform. Neither the identity of the seriously injured trooper nor the deceased male shooting suspect have been released, although Geller stated that more information on each would be disbursed as the investigation proceeded.

The spokeswoman stated that the as of yet unidentified trooper was originally reported as dead in the panicked moments after the active shooter situation was reported, but police later amended the original report. Details on his situation and background were intentionally sparse.

"We're not going to get into any details at this point," Geller said. "As you can imagine, this still is in the early stages of the investigation."

The North Boulevard bus station is well known to local law enforcement agencies as a hot spot for criminal activity. Rachel DePompa of NBC 12 reported that the area was the number one location for service calls in Richmond from November 2014 to October 2015. On Thursday evening, police stated that a gun had been recovered at the scene and that the FBI had joined local law enforcement agencies at the Richmond bus station to aid in the investigation.

Meanwhile, the public waits for news of the injured victims, including updates on the trooper. Richmond city councilwoman Reva Trammell told NBC affiliate WWBT, on Thursday evening, "I would never believe this. This is one of the saddest days that I've seen in the city of Richmond."