One man is dead after a shooting in the parking lot of a Virginia Red Roof Inn, and the suspected shooter peacefully surrendered after talking over FaceTime with a crisis negotiator Sunday morning.
The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office said deputies found a man with a gunshot wound to the chest when they responded at 8:15 a.m. to the motel at 386 Warrenton Road.
When officers arrived, they provided first aid until medics arrived. The man was taken to the hospital where he died. His identity has not been released, pending notification of family.
Deputies said the suspect, 44-year-old George Pearson III of Stafford, drove away in a silver Toyota Tacoma with a handgun and spoke to them over FaceTime.
A negotiator “attempted to arrange a peaceful surrender but the suspect refused to stop. The suspected indicated he would not be taken alive,” a news release said.
But Pearson, who was still on the FaceTime call with authorities at 11:30 a.m., stopped on an exit ramp from Interstate 95 in Hanover County. He agreed to peacefully surrender to Hanover County deputies and Virginia State Police.
Pearson, who is being held without bond a the Rappahannock Regional Jail, is charged with second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
