Police seek shooting suspect, victim released from hospital

Published 7:13 pm Sunday, October 16, 2016

Police are looking for a 33-year-old Cumberland County woman in connection with a shooting Sunday afternoon in front of AtWork Personnel Services, 1101 S. Main St.

Laila Johnson is wanted for questioning in connection with the incident that left one person with minor injuries, according to a Farmville Police Department press release.

Johnson is described as a light-skinned black female, approximately 120 pounds and 5 feet, 6 inches tall.

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“She has black and brown hair with orange and blonde highlights and was last seen driving a 2005 Volvo SUV with license plate ‘LAIOFF,’” police said in the release.

Police responded to the shooting a little after 4 p.m. Officers shut down the northbound lanes of South Main Street in the vicinity of the business, which was closed at the time, with yellow crime tape hung around the building and entrance.

“According to witnesses, an altercation occurred between one of four passengers of a Mitsubishi SUV and an unknown female subject,” police said in the release. “During the course of the altercation, Johnson allegedly opened fire at the vehicle from behind a nearby residence. One passenger sustained minor injuries as a result of debris caused by the gunfire and was taken to Centra Southside Community Hospital. She has been treated and released.”

Farmville Police Chief A.Q. “Andy” Ellington, who was at the scene, said the victim’s injuries appeared to have come from shattered glass as a result of the shooting.

Ellington said the incident appeared to be isolated. As of Sunday, he did not know the exact number of shots fired. Longwood University Police Department officers and Virginia State Police troopers also responded to the shooting.

“There is no current known threat to the public as a result of this incident,” police said in the release.

@Work Personnel Services owner Margaret Taylor Collins said none of the people involved in the shooting incident are “in any way, shape or form related to us, business or personally.”

She said the business is closed on Sundays, reiterating that the business was closed during the shooting.

“They happened to choose our driveway, which (is about) 5 feet from the sidewalk,” she said, adding that it is safe to patronize her business. “We are closed on Sundays and we were certainly closed at the time of the shooting.”

Anyone knowing Johnson’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Farmville Emergency Communication Center at (434) 392-3332.