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Star News TV
— What apparently began as a motor vehicle crash in Ridgeway turned into a manhunt in Bassett, an armed confrontation with deputies, a seriously injured police K-9 and two people needing medical treatment.
So, not exactly a quiet Monday afternoon in Henry County.
Henry County Sheriff Wayne Davis told Star News that the incident remains in its preliminary stages, but said it began when Virginia State Police were investigating a crash in the Ridgeway community earlier Sunday afternoon.
According to Davis, the driver allegedly fled the scene of that crash.
The State Police investigation eventually led authorities north to the Bassett community along the U.S. 220 corridor, where investigators identified a woman they believed may have been driving the vehicle involved in the earlier crash.
But finding her didn't exactly end the search.
Davis said the woman fled into a wooded area, prompting Virginia State Police to request assistance from the Henry County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies eventually encountered the woman in the woods.
That's when an already strange afternoon reportedly took a much more serious turn.
According to Davis, the woman produced what he described as an edged weapon, believed to be a razor knife or box cutter. He said she became aggressive toward law enforcement and threatened to harm officers.
Deputies attempted to de-escalate the confrontation for an extended period, Davis said, but those efforts were unsuccessful.
A Henry County Sheriff's Office K-9 was then deployed.
Davis said the woman stabbed the police dog multiple times, leaving the K-9 with several injuries, including a severe laceration to its face.
Even after the dog was being actively attacked, Davis said deputies did not resort to deadly force.
Instead, the woman was struck with a less-lethal impact munition, ending the confrontation and allowing deputies to take her into custody.
The impact munition caused injuries serious enough that the woman was being airlifted to a trauma center for evaluation and treatment.
Davis praised the response of his deputies.
“I'm very proud of the men and women at the Henry County Sheriff's Office,” Davis told Star News, saying deputies continued attempting to de-escalate the situation and exercised restraint even after the K-9 was violently assaulted.
The sheriff emphasized that the information available Monday afternoon was still preliminary.
The incident involved multiple scenes and agencies, beginning with the Virginia State Police crash investigation in Ridgeway and ultimately ending with the confrontation involving Henry County deputies in Bassett.
Additional information, including the woman's identity, possible criminal charges, the condition of the injured K-9 and further details surrounding the original crash, had not yet been released at the time of the interview.
Star News will update the story as additional information becomes available.
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