A Virginia police officer was shot during a traffic stop Friday afternoon, police said.
According to the Daily News-Record, Officer Nick Winum, 48, had stopped suspect Dakota Richards’s car in the town of Stanley at around 3:30 p.m.
But the suspect got out of his car and opened fire on Winum before the five-year veteran left his patrol car.
Winum died on the spot. Richards fled and was arrested by police in a nearby field, the outlet reported.
The police mourned Winum’s death.
“Since joining our division in 2016, he has proudly served and protected the Stanley community,” Chief Ryan Dean said in a statement on Facebook.
“I know the Stanley and Page County community holds Nick and his family in their prayers in this most difficult and most tragic time.”