Waynesboro police: Teen points loaded gun at officer

WAYNESBORO — A 16-year-old male is now in custody after pointing a loaded gun at a police officer Wednesday.

No one was shot in the incident.

The Waynesboro Police Department has charged the Augusta County teen with one felony and four misdemeanors.

Several officers and detectives responded about 4 p.m. to North Bayard Avenue and Fourth Street for a report of a mob of 15 to 20 people fighting, according to police.

Glenn Bowers, who lives on the corner, said he saw the whole thing. He's lived in the area for about 14 years and says it is usually pretty quiet.

There's an abandoned house across the street from Bowers' home, and a storage center nearby.

"One (kid was) running this way and one running that way," he said. "I didn't know there was a gun involved."

He said there were a lot of trucks and cars in the area.

"I didn't know what was going on, I just saw a bunch of (teens)," he said.

POLICE: ONE SUSPECT FLEES

When police arrived, most of the people had fled, but officers saw the teen walking away from the scene holding his hand to his waistband, the police press release said. When an officer instructed him to stop, one young man fled on foot northwest through the 600 block of North Bayard Avenue.

Three officers pursued the teen on foot. While fleeing, the teen pulled a handgun from his waistband and pointed it at officers, who were about 20 yards away, the release said.

The teen brandished the weapon twice, police claim. One officer unholstered his firearm but didn't shoot.

According to Waynesboro Police Sgt. Brian Edwards, the pursuing officers saw the teen trying to conceal a weapon in his waistband.

As he was running, the teen pulled a gun and drew it behind his back, Edwards said. Officers saw the gun before it was drawn on them, but the one officer only drew his gun once the weapon was aimed at them, Edwards claimed.

"You can see when a person looks like they're trying to conceal a weapon in their waistband," Edwards said.

"They saw the gun in his hand, and he pulled back and pointed it at the officers," Edwards said.

Edwards said it was a gut decision from one of the officers not to shoot.

"There was a gun being pointed at them, they could have shot," Edwards said. "It was a deadly force situation. But the officer decided to solve the situation another way."

"It's a split-second decision and falls back on the officer's training and a gut reaction," Edwards added. "That gut reaction and that momentary hope of it wasn't going to end badly for the officers or the 16-year-old."

VETERAN SWAT OFFICER

The male officer, who remained unnamed, is an eight-year veteran of the Waynesboro Police Department who serves on the SWAT team. Edwards said the officer was still shaken by the incident.

"Once the adrenaline subsides, you think of all the scenarios that could have happened," Edwards said. "You have to digest everything that could have happened. No one's patting themselves on the back ... we're just relieved."

After drawing the gun, the teen then ran to the back of the Klann Inc. facility at 301 Fourth St. and threw his handgun between two exterior buildings, the release said. The officers took the teen into custody and recovered the handgun, a 40-caliber Taurus semi-automatic, which was loaded with four rounds of ammunition including one in the chamber of firearm.

"This situation evolved under minutes," Edwards said. "It went from teens fighting to a gun being pulled."

According to some teen witnesses who were at the fight, the gun was drawn on two other teens prior to police involvement, Edwards said.

MORE INCIDENTS LATELY?

Edwards also said there's been an uptick in violence in the Valley. The recent crack cocaine busts in the Valley under Operation Valley Fog, which rounded up almost 20 area drug dealers, has led to more violence, according to him. However, Edwards did not elaborate on the connection between the crackdown and the spurt in violence.

Edwards doesn't suspect the teen has any involvement with the previous drug arrests and said this is the teen's first brush with law. Edwards also doesn't think the incident stems from any anger produced from incidents in Baltimore or Ferguson.

Police are still investigating the origin of the gun.

The teen, who remained unnamed, is facing five charges: felonious assault on an officer, brandishing a firearm, obstruction of justice, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a firearm by a juvenile.

The teen, who is from outside of Dooms, was not enrolled in any local schools, he said.

It's unlikely the teen will be charged as an adult, but could carry the felony charge for his entire life, if convicted, Edwards said.

Officers took the teen to the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Intake Office. He is being held at the Shenandoah Juvenile Detention Center in Verona.

Follow Laura Peters @peterslaura and @peterpants . You can reach her at lpeters@newsleader.com or 213-9125.