ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 9, 1997 TAG: 9702100066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: AMELIA
SOURCE: Associated Press
A state trooper shot and killed a man who attacked the trooper and an Amelia County Sheriff's deputy at a motel Saturday morning, police said.
Andrew Merritt Gibson, 35, of Richmond died at the scene, state police spokeswoman Mary Evans said.
Trooper James White was called to Buddy's Motel on U.S. 360 about 6:30 a.m. to assist local authorities on a report of a man smashing windows at the motel, Evans said. The man also had torn up his room at the motel, where he'd been living for about a month.
When White and a deputy attempted to subdue the man, he grabbed White's flashlight and hit the trooper in the hand, breaking his fingers, Evans said. The man then grabbed the deputy and began hitting him, she said.
White fired six times, Evans said. She did not know how many times the man was hit by the gunfire.
White, 34, has been a state trooper for five years. He was placed on administrative leave until the investigation is complete.
The man was carrying a piece of paper in his hand that said ``100 service veteran'' on one side and had the name, address and telephone number of a lawyer on the other side, Evans said. She said it appeared that the lawyer was the man's legal guardian, but she did not reveal his name.
LENGTH: Short : 35 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB