Man killed in officer-involved shooting at Lynchburg motel, hostage taken to hospital: LPD

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — The Lynchburg Police Department (LPD) said one man is dead after an officer-involved shooting on Thursday night.

Virginia State Police (VSP) said at approximately 8:00 p.m., Lynchburg Police responded to the Super 8 Motel on Candlers Mountain Road to serve an arrest warrant on 32-year-old Francisco J. Hernandez Jr., of Newport News.

VSP said when LPD made contact with Hernandez in his hotel room, he retreated and barricaded himself inside with a female hostage.

Lynchburg Police spent the next three hours attempting to negotiate the peaceful surrender of Hernandez and the release of his hostage, according to VSP.

At approximately 11:00 p.m., state police said Hernandez confronted the Lynchburg Police officers while holding the woman hostage at knifepoint. When Hernandez refused to comply with the officers' commands to disarm and release the hostage, an unnamed officer shot Hernandez.

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LPD officers immediately rendered aid but the man did not survive. His body was taken to the Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy and examination.

VSP said the female hostage was not injured during the shooting, but LPD said shewas taken to Lynchburg General Hospital for evaluation.

No Lynchburg Police officers were injured during the incident.

ABC13 spoke with a woman who said she was staying at the motel when the shooting happened.

"I went and tried to get some food from Macado's but I couldn't because too much chaos going on," Key'aria Reeves said. "So I just did what everybody else did that was standing there being nosy. So what I did was be nosy. I heard them, first, I saw all the guns, I saw all the lights and everything."

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At the request of Lynchburg Police, the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Appomattox Field Office is investigating this incident. LPD will simultaneously conduct an internal investigation.

According to an LPD press release, "As is normal practice, when an officer discharges a department-issued firearm in the performance of their duties, they are placed in a non-enforcement, limited duty assignment until the completion of the investigation. One officer in this case has been placed on limited duty."

Once the investigation is complete, state police will submit their findings to the Commonwealth's Attorney for final review and adjudication.