An officer with the Stanley (VA) Police Department was fatally shot during a traffic stop on Friday afternoon.
Officer Dominic “Nick” Winum, 48, had served the department since 2016.
According to Virginia State Police, Winum initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle, but before he could get out of his patrol vehicle, the driver got out of his vehicle and opened fire.

Officer Dominic “Nick” Winum, 48, of the Stanley (VA) Police Department was murdered Friday at a traffic stop. (Photo: Stanley PD)
An officer with the Stanley (VA) Police Department was fatally shot during a traffic stop on Friday afternoon.
Officer Dominic “Nick” Winum, 48, had served the department since 2016.
According to Virginia State Police, Winum initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle, but before he could get out of his patrol vehicle, the driver got out of his vehicle and opened fire, NBC29 reports.
The suspect, Dakota G. Richards, 29, of Stanley, Va., fled into the nearby woods on foot.
Law enforcement later located Richards hiding out in a barn. Police said Richards made a threatening movement and was shot by Page County Sheriff’s Deputies. Richards died from his injuries.

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