Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 11, 1994 TAG: 9407110085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FISHERSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Three people were injured in the shooting Saturday afternoon at the Old Dominion Gun Show at the Augusta Expoland.
"I thought it was a joke. I thought someone had fired a blank, and someone was just acting like they got shot," said a witness, Danny Spitler of Staunton. "I looked and one guy was shot through his hand, and the round ended up in the other guy's leg."
A third man apparently was grazed by the bullet, witnesses said.
It was unclear how many shots were fired. The Sheriff's Department said investigators would meet with the commonwealth's attorney on Monday.
Deputies identified the injured as John Tatum, 27, of Arlington; Daniel Shifflett, 46; and Edward Varner, 34, of Stuarts Draft. The department did not have an address for Shifflett.
According to the deputies, Tatum was wounded in the hand and Shifflett in the leg, and Varner was grazed on the leg.
Spitler said he was about 10 feet away from the three men when the shooting occurred.
"It [the gun] had been out there all day. It was the dealer's personal gun," Spitler said. He said the weapon was a .38-caliber semiautomatic handgun.
The three were taken to Waynesboro Community Hospital following the shooting around 3:50 p.m. A hospital spokeswoman said Tatum and Shifflett were transferred to the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville. Varner was treated at the Waynesboro hospital and released.
A university hospital spokesman said Tatum was discharged Sunday and Shifflett was in good condition.
by CNB