LEESBURG, Va. — Charging documents reveal new details in the incident that led to a Reston man being charged with attempted capital murder after opening fire on Loudoun County sheriff’s deputies last week.
Hyeong J. Suh, 29, is charged with attempted capital murder and breaking and entering — both felonies. The maximum sentence for attempted capital murder is life in prison.
In the arrest warrant, investigators allege Suh on Jan. 16 forced his way into a trailer on the grounds of a house on Peacock Circle in the town of Paeonian Springs, off Route 7 between Leesburg and Hamilton in western Loudoun County.
“While inside the building, Suh gained access to a 12-gauge shotgun with a wooden stock, and AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a quantity of companion ammunition,” according to the warrant.
The next day, the father of the property owner saw the window had been damaged and encountered Suh. The father called 911, reported he didn’t know Suh and said he heard what he believed to be gunfire, before being directed to leave the area immediately.
Two sheriff’s deputies arrived on the property, and a deputy made contact with Suh, who was standing in the threshold of the building.
“When questioned if he lived there, Suh replied he did. Asked about the gunfire, Suh advised he was target practicing,” according to the charging document.
When the deputy asked Suh to come out of the building, he abruptly went back inside, and the deputy “heard what he believed to be rounds [being] placed into the firearm, and a ‘racking sound.'”
As the deputy sought cover behind a tree, Suh came out of the building wielding a long gun with a wooden stock. The deputy identified himself as law enforcement, and ordered Suh to drop the weapon, but he instead “brought the barrel of the long gun up and aimed it at (the deputy).”
The deputy fired two shots from his service weapon. Suh fired one shot in return, then retreated into the building, before coming out and again aiming at the deputy, who fired two more rounds.
Suh went back into the building, but soon after was taken into custody. He suffered a nonlife-threatening injury. The deputies were not hurt.
Suh is being held until a bond hearing Friday in Loudoun County District Court.
