Prince Edward Co, VA – A former police officer from Farmville is behind bars, charged with four counts of attempted capital murder of a police officer and four counts of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, according to Virginia State Police Spokesperson Corinne Geller.
Captain Howard Hobgood of the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office says T.J. Long of Prince Edward County shot at Charlotte County Deputies and State Police Saturday Afternoon nearly a dozen times on farmland near the Charlotte / Prince Edward County line.
Hobgood said deputies from his office were responding to calls from Long’s wife, who was trying to locate him Saturday, when the shooting started.
State police say they were able to set up a perimeter around the property and that no Deputies or State Police Officers were injured during the shooting.
Long eventually surrendered to State Police around 5:20 p.m. Saturday, Geller said.
Captain Hobgood says Long is also a suspect in the arson of a home that Long owned off of Route 40 before the shooting incident. Long’s wife lived in the home, but was not home at the time of the fire, Hobgood said.
The fire remains under investigation, Hobgood said.
Long is being held in the Peidmont Regional Jail, Geller said.
