Employee kills 2, injures 1 at Virginia rental facility before killing himself
An employee opened fire at an equipment rental facility in Manassas, Virginia, killing two people and injuring a third, according to police. The gunman later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a police pursuit on Interstate 81.
Police began receiving calls about an active shooter at 7:11 a.m. on Wednesday at United Rentals at 9415 Wellington Road in Manassas. A Prince William County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived first, followed shortly by Manassas City Police officers.
Police identified the gunman as Marvin Grant, 37, of Charlotte, North Carolina. Manassas Police Chief Douglas Keen said he arrived at work and told a coworker that “three people are going to die.”
Keen said there was an altercation before the employee pulled a pistol from his waistband and shot three people. He fled in a silver Toyota Camry before officers arrived.
Responding officers secured the complex and provided emergency medical aid to the victims, who were taken to hospitals. Ricky Lamot, 48, and Christopher Serrano, 33, later died.
The third victim remains in stable condition at Fairfax Hospital and will need surgery but is expected to survive, Chief Keen said.
Detectives tracked the gunman’s cellphone to Harrisonburg and alerted Virginia State Police. At about 8:20 a.m., state police were notified that he could be in Rockingham County.
A trooper spotted his vehicle traveling south on Interstate 81 near mile marker 235 in Augusta County. He pulled into a rest area near mile marker 232, where troopers attempted a traffic stop.
The suspect got out of the car, then returned to it and continued south, with troopers pursuing him. Near mile marker 227, he stopped along the interstate and stepped out with a firearm pointed at his head.
A tactical team and a negotiator responded. At about 10:30 a.m., he shot himself and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Virginia State Police said they did not use force.
The motive remains unknown. Keen described the gunman as a relatively new employee, but said investigators were still determining when he was assigned to the facility and whether he had transferred from another location.
Keen also said the suspect changed the vehicle’s license plates sometime between midnight and the shooting. Investigators are trying to determine why.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
