CAROLINE COUNTY, Va. -- The three teenagers who were injured in a shooting in a rural Caroline County neighborhood on Thursday were ambushed after being led to the area to participate in a drug deal.
When the transaction was about to take place, the victims were shot.
The incident occurred on a remote, rural road, and this is the second time a victim has been lured into a potentially deadly encounter to complete a transaction that started online.
“It is important for our citizens to know this was not a random act of violence. While no one deserves to be a victim of violent crime, the victims here were in the process of a drug transaction when they were assaulted," Sheriff Lippa said. "I say this not to judge their actions, but to let residents and business owners know this was a planned illegal act. It occurred on a remote, rural road, and the transaction was initiated on social media. All the involved parties have been apprehended."
Three juveniles, two 16, and one 17-year-old were taken into custody.
Neighbors say they heard shots fire during the Thursday shooting.
“The doorbell just kept ringing and ringing and no one rings our doorbell,” said a woman living nearby, who said she heard that four young adults inside a car on Friendship Lane were approached by gunmen that were walking through a cornfield.
The three young adults inside the car were hit with gunfire from sawed-off shotguns, an AK-47 and a pistol, which were recovered during a Thursday search warrant.
She said the three victims were outside her home, ducking behind a car in her driveway as they waited for deputies to arrive on scene.
“I threw down a towel for them to put on his side until the police or ambulance arrived," she said.
"This is at our back door and it's crazy stuff,” the woman said. “It goes to show it can happen anywhere and I need to have a plan on what I can and can't do or what I should and shouldn't do."
If anyone has any information on this crime, contact Sgt. K. H. Eichenmiller at 804-633-8064, or to report any suspicious activity or crime in Caroline, I encourage you to call our dispatch center at 804-633-5400, or our anonymous tip line at 804-633-1133.”
