RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia State Police issued a Law Enforcement Officer alert early Sunday morning for a man who shot an officer with the Bluefield Police Department.
Donquale Maurice Gray
Bluefield Police are looking for 25-year-old Donquale Maurice Gray in connection with the shooting. He is wanted by State Police for attempted capital murder of a police officer.
Gray is 6’1″ tall, weighs 185 pounds and has brown eyes and black hair. There is no description of what he was last seen wearing.
The wounded officer is still being treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
State Police say the incident began around 11:45 p.m. on Saturday, February 16, when Bluefield, Virginia, Police officers initiated a traffic stop on a 2008 Toyota Yaris vehicle for an equipment violation. The car, which had been traveling east on Route 460, pulled off to the shoulder near Exit 3 within the town limits of Bluefield, Virginia.
An adult male driver and Gray, the front seat passenger, were inside the car. During the traffic stop, Gray started shooting at the officer, wounding him, as the officer was standing outside the vehicle on the driver’s side.
The Bluefield, Virginia, officer and another Bluefield, Virginia, officer who responded to assist with the traffic stop returned fire.
The driver of the Toyota got out of the vehicle and surrendered. Gray got into the driver’s seat and drove off. The car was found abandoned in Bluefield, West Virginia, a few hours later.
The driver of the Toyota was cited for a traffic violation and was later released. He was not injured in the shooting.
The other Bluefield, Virginia, officer who responded to the scene was also unharmed.
Authorities say Gray should be considered armed and dangerous. He may now be on foot and was last seen in the area of Augusta Street in Bluefield, West Virginia.
As the two-state search for Gray continues, U.S. Marshals are offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to his arrest. Wednesday, Marshals in West Virginia announced that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has matched the U.S. Marshals Service’s offer, bringing the total reward to $10,000.
Efforts have been concentrated in the Princeton, West Virginia, area. The U.S. Marshals Service, along with the ATF, the Princeton Police Department, West Virginia State Police, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police and the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office have been working 24 hours a day to find Gray.
Anyone who knows of Gray’s whereabouts is asked to call the Bluefield Police Department at (276) 326-2621.
Information may also be sent to the following email addresses: USMS84.TIPS@usdoj.gov or questions@VSP.VIRGINIA.GOV.
If the information is critical or urgent in nature, you are asked to call 911 or local law enforcement directly.
