ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 18, 1995 TAG: 9512180117
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN STAFF WRITER
Hundreds of rounds of ammunition were discharged during a three-hour standoff between a Hardy man and Franklin County sheriff's deputies near a trailer park Sunday afternoon. No one was injured, and the gunman's intent remains unclear.
Two deputies answered a call about a domestic dispute at Howell Trailer Park on Virginia 678 in Hardy at 4:17 p.m. Before they arrived, another call reported shots fired at the park.
When the officers arrived, a woman told police her boyfriend had left their trailer with a weapon and some boxes of ammunition, according to Capt. Bill Overton.
She said the man was angry, but she wasn't sure why. Shortly thereafter, the officers heard gunshots - about 50 to 100 rounds - in nearby woods.
Officers set up a command post and notified residents of the seven or eight other trailers in the park, Overton said. Some chose to leave the park.
The gunman started a campfire on an embankment above a ravine in the woods - about 200 yards behind the trailer park - and continued to shoot, Overton said. Police could tell that two different calibers of ammunition were being used.
The county's tactical team responded after dark, and the seven-officer team, using night vision goggles, kept an eye on the gunman.
Authorities issued an emergency detention order, which would allow mental health professionals to evaluate the man, Overton said.
About 7:20 p.m., the man started back toward the trailer park, but police could still hear gunshots. They later determined the man had dumped
Three members of the tactical team captured 31-year-old Billy Joe Kline without incident.
He was being evaluated at Franklin Memorial Hospital late Sunday.
Authorities hadn't yet interviewed the man, and Overton said the reasons for the shooting spree were unknown.
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