Va. Officer Shot, Driver Found Dead In Vehicle on I-395

An Alexandria police officer was shot and wounded last night on Interstate 395, and the suspect was later found dead in his vehicle near the 14th Street bridge.

It appeared that the suspect shot himself as officers closed in near the tense conclusion of an incident that filled the highway with flashing lights and sirens and brought traffic to a near standstill for a time on one of the region's major arteries.

The officer was hit near Glebe Road in Arlington County about 8 p.m. after pursuing and stopping a motorist who had been driving erratically. The wounded officer's name was not released immediately.

He was wearing a bullet-resistant vest, and although he suffered "deep tissue wounds," he "is healthy," said Detective Crystal Nosal, an Arlington police spokeswoman. The officer was being treated last night at Inova Fairfax Hospital.

Assigned to train others, the officer, a member of the Alexandria force for 3 1/2 years, was in a patrol car, supervising a trainee when the incident began, police said.

The two spotted a vehicle that was being operated erratically. Suspecting that its driver might be under the influence of alcohol, according to police accounts, they began to follow it in the northbound lanes of I-395.

Near Glebe Road, the car, described as a silver Lexus sport-utility vehicle, came to a halt.

Police said the officers approached, the trainee on the driver's side and the training supervisor on the passenger side.

Almost immediately, a shot was fired, police said. Although it appeared that the driver was the only occupant of the car, authorities said the officer was shot from the passenger side.

Although the shot might not have penetrated the protective gear, according to several accounts, it struck with sufficient force to cause injury.

A woman who said she lives nearby, at 25th and South Adams streets, said she saw some of what happened.

Pauline Stevens, 50, said that as she looked out a window of her fourth-floor apartment, which overlooks the highway, she saw that the two cars had stopped.