THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 28, 1995 TAG: 9511280322
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
A James City County police officer and a man he was chasing shot each other early Monday in an exchange of gunfire that also wounded a girl sleeping in a nearby house, authorities said.
The officer, Patrick Murray, 27, and the suspect, Random R. Grandel, 20, were in stable condition at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
The wounded 17-year-old girl, hit in the leg by a stray bullet fired from Grandel's gun, was treated at Williamsburg Community Hospital and released, said Capt. Ken Middlebrook, a police spokesman. He did not know her name.
According to Middlebrook, Grandel jumped from a car that Murray pulled over shortly after 1 a.m. and began running from the scene. The officer chased him on foot and came upon Grandel hiding in bushes.
Grandel jumped from the bushes and began firing, hitting Murray in the neck and hand, Middlebrook said. Murray returned the fire, hitting Grandel in the stomach and leg.
Both the officer and Grandel are expected to fully recover from their wounds, Middlebrook said.
He said officers recovered the bullet Grandel fired. It went through a bedroom window of a house across the street, through the leg of the sleeping girl and into another bedroom.
Grandel was charged with attempted capital murder of a police officer and two counts of maiming, plus firearms possession charges, Middlebrook said.
He said Murray, a police officer since September 1990, stopped the car in which Grandel was riding because he recognized another passenger as someone being sought in a drug investigation.
Grandel has a prior felony drug conviction, Middlebrook said.
KEYWORDS: SHOOTING by CNB