PATRICK COUNTY, Va. – A woman was sent to the hospital after being shot in the head by her alleged boyfriend early Monday morning, according to the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office.
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Sheriff Dan Smith said a call came in about the incident around 2:24 a.m. early Monday morning. The caller said a man had shot into a vehicle at a house on Trent Store Lane.
When authorities arrived at the scene, they encountered 23-year-old Dustin Lawson in front of the residence. He was wearing body armor and surrendered.
Throughout the investigation, it was determined that Lawson’s girlfriend was trying to leave with her five-year-old child. That’s when Sheriff Smith said Lawson allegedly shot into her vehicle multiple times with a rifle and a handgun in an attempt to get them to stay.
The woman sustained a gunshot wound to the head and the child was uninjured, according to the sheriff. She was airlifted to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem with non-life-threatening injuries.
Multiple firearms were later seized during the execution of a search warrant at the residence.
According to the sheriff’s office, Lawson is now facing the following charges:
- Two counts of attempted first-degree murder,
- Two counts of shooting into an occupied vehicle,
- Two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony,
- Malicious wounding,
- Felony child endangerment,
- Wearing body armor while committing a violent offense,
- Carrying a concealed weapon.
He’s being held in the Patrick County Jail without bond.