RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Police say they have identified the man who opened fire in a Greyhound bus station on North Boulevard in Richmond, killing a a Virginia State Trooper.
Police say the gunman as 34-year-old James Brown, III of Aurora, Illinois. Brown died of bullet wounds he received in a fire fight with state troopers.
Aurora court records show Brown long criminal record and his list of charges include:
- Murder
- Intent to kill
- Aggravated battery with a firearm
- Failure to obey police
- Resisting a corrections officer
- Aggravated battery of a pregnant woman
- Aggravated battery of an unborn child
- Numerous drug charges
- Intimidation
- Domestic battery
- Felony possession of a weapon
- Extensive driving charges
Brown’s aunt says he was living with her until December when she told him to leave.
“He had a lot of anger about the police in the past,” Edith Brown tells CBS 6 Richmond. “He pretty much thought he wanted to be infamous… in terms of having a showdown. He always praised those people who got into shootouts with police.”
She says her nephew vowed his prison days were over.
“He said he would never go back to prison again,” she says. “He would fight it out with them.”
Virginia State Police confirm 37-year-old Trooper Chad Phillip Dermyer died in the hospital Thursday night as a result of the gunshot wounds he received from suspect Brown.
Dermyer, a native of Jackson, Michigan, is survived by his wife and two children. Trooper Dermyer is the 62nd Virginia State Police Trooper to be killed in the line of duty during the Department’s 84-year history.
Shooting Summary:
- One gunman – shot, dead
- One trooper – shot, dead
- Two female bystanders – shot, injured
- Two other bystanders — injured, unknown how
Officials say four other bystanders at the scene were also injured. Two of the bystanders were shot; it is unknown at this time how the other two were injured. Authorities say the two that were shot are alive and in treatment at a Richmond hospital.
