Virginia State Police Special Agent Michael T. Walter, 45, died Saturday morning in a shooting while on duty Friday night, police said. Photo courtesy of Virginia State Police

May 27 (UPI) -- A Virginia State Police special agent died Saturday morning after a shooting while on duty Friday night in Richmond.

Michael T. Walter, 45, of Powhatan County, was a member of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Richmond Field Office Drug Enforcement Section. He was an 18-year veteran of the Virginia State Police.


He was riding in a marked Richmond Police Department SUV in a partnership with the two agencies.

Walter and the Richmond officer noticed a silver Chevrolet Cobalt parked in the wrong direction on a street near a public housing complex around 7:35 p.m, State Police said.

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While the Richmond police officer was talking to the driver, Walter walked over to the passenger side where Travis A. Ball, 27, was sitting, according to police. What caused the incident to turn violent wasn't clear. Ball was shot once, police said, and ran off. The driver was detained.

Walter died at 5 a.m. Saturday at VCU Medical Center.

Ball was apprehended shortly after 6 a.m. at a home in Northumberland County. He has been charged with malicious wounding, possession of a firearm by a felon and use of a firearm in a felony. Additional charges are pending, police said.

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In 2014, Ball was found guilty of obstructing justice and assault and battery.

"Special Agent Walter was one of our brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every single day to protect their fellow Virginians," Gov. Terry McAuliffe said in the statement. "We will be forever grateful for his service and sacrifice."

Walter was married and the father of three children, ages 14, 9 and 6.

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"Mike is well-known not only for his passion for criminal justice, but also for his commitment and passion to bettering the lives of local youth," Col. W. Steven Flaherty, superintendent of the State Police said at news conference.