The teenage Virginia suspect in the shooting deaths of a mother and child was arrested Saturday night in North Carolina, the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office announced.
Deputies undertook a daylong manhunt for 17-year-old Levi Norwood, who is accused of shooting and killing his mother and brother and wounding his father in the Midland area of Virginia on Friday.
The search for Norwood ended Saturday when he was apprehended in North Carolina, after a store’s employees reported a shoplifter to police, sheriff’s office spokesman Sgt. James Hartman said in an email.
During the investigation, detectives learned that Norwood might try to run to a southern state, though North Carolina was not his final destination.
Fauquier County Sheriff Robert Mosier said during a news conference that Norwood had stolen a red 2007 Toyota Camry with Virginia tags. The car was recovered at the scene when Norwood was caught.
Hartman wouldn’t specify where the teenager was arrested, saying Fauquier County detectives needed to get to North Carolina and “do their job first.” He said he would release the location on Sunday or Monday, The Associated Press reported.
Norwood is charged with murder in the killing of his mother Jennifer Norwood, 34, and her son Wyatt, 6. Deputies initially said on Friday that the boy was 7 years old.
The initial incident occurred around 6 p.m. Friday on the 12000 block of Elk Run Road. The suspect’s father found his wife and 6-year-old son dead from apparent gunshot wounds.
According to a news release, the suspect confronted his father and shot at him several times. The father ran from the house and called 911. He was taken to the hospital with injuries that are not life-threatening.
The sheriff’s office advised the community to shelter in place, as Norwood was considered armed and dangerous, Mosier said.
Around 10:15 p.m. on Friday, deputies entered the house after working to contact the suspect for several hours. They had initially believed that Norwood had barricaded himself in the family home, but they did not find him there during the search, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies went door-to-door Friday night and early Saturday morning in the surrounding area, in what Mosier described as a rural community several miles off U.S. Route 17, south of the Warrenton-Fauquier Airport.
Authorities used bloodhounds to track Norwood’s trail to an area off Route 28. Police were able to determine the vehicle Norwood was in due to a stolen car report Saturday morning.
WTOP’s Mike Murillo, Alejandro Alvarez, Zeke Hartner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
