Police: Virginia deputy shot daughter, crashed car

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wtop.com
Friday – 8/15/2014

WINCHESTER, Va. (AP) — A Virginia deputy sheriff shot his 16-year-old daughter
after mistaking her for an intruder, then crashed his car as he rushed her to the
hospital, authorities said.

The teenager was in stable condition at a
Winchester hospital, according to media reports.

Capt. Donnie Lang of the
Frederick County Sheriff’s Office said a security alarm sounded at about 3:30 a.m.
Tuesday at the Winchester home of Easton McDonald, a sergeant with the Loudoun
County Sheriff’s Office. He said McDonald, responding to the alarm, saw the dark
shape of a person advancing through the garage door and fired.

“He figured
someone had broken into the garage, and his family was upstairs asleep,” Lang said.

Armed with his privately owned gun — not his service weapon — McDonald
fired, Lang said.

“Then he hears her voice and recognizes that it’s his
daughter,” he said.

According to investigators, McDonald grabbed his daughter,
who had been returning home after apparently sneaking out, and called 911 to report
that he was taking her to the hospital. En route, McDonald lost control of his car
and hit a barricade, damaging the front of the vehicle but causing no additional
injuries to his daughter or to himself, Lang said.

Emergency responders went
to the scene of the crash and took McDonald’s daughter to the hospital.

A call
to the McDonald home Friday went to a recording, which said the number had been
temporarily disconnected.

Kraig Troxell, spokesman for the Loudoun sheriff’s
office, confirmed that McDonald was involved in the shooting but declined further
comment.

McDonald, a 13-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, was placed on
administrative leave pending an internal investigation.

3 COMMENTS

  1. This isn’t to far from me. I’m actually headed to Winchester today for some errands. Not only can’t this guy differentiate between family and not family, armed or unarmed, male or female, but he can’t drive either.

    • exactly, he seems to lack all the skills of what theoretically are needed to be an LEO!
      the only thing I am surprised about is that he actually hit his target.

    • Dear dom,

      Occifer safety at the expense of us mere mundanes is cavalierly adopted as justification for a “shoot first just to be on the safe side” policy.

      LEOs beam with approval. After all, “they” are mere mundanes. “Our” safety comes first, right?

      Tragic irony straight out of a Rod Serling Twilight Zone episode.

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