Virginia State Troops Are Chasing Someone In A Tracked Armored Command Vehicle (Updated)
A video shows the tracked vehicle speeding down the highway with police cruisers in hot pursuit.
Very few details are available so far, but some in a tracked command vehicle is has led Virginia State Police on a medium-speed chase south of the state's capital, Richmond. There's no information available yet about who's driving the vehicle or where it came from.
At around 9:00 PM EST on June 5, 2018, video emerged of the chase in progress on U.S. Route 460 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. The vehicle, either an M577- or M1068-series armored command vehicle in an overall sand color, with police in front and behind, clearly attempting to keep innocent bystanders out of the way.
The M577s and M1068s are based on the M113 family of armored personnel carriers, but feature a notably larger rear compartment that allows individuals to stand up and move around. The vehicles typically carry a large communications suite to keep commanders in contact with various echelons at once.
An unconfirmed post on Twitter suggested that an individual had stolen the vehicle from Fort Pickett, a Virginia Army National Guard facility just over 40 southwest of Richmond near the city of Blackstone. The site is home to the Fort Pickett Maneuver Training Center, which routinely hosts armored training events, as well as other types of drills.
Update: 7:10pm PST—
The suspect that was driving the stolen armored vehicle has been apprehended. Nothing more is known about how he was taken into custody aside from the fact that he surrendered. His identity remains unknown at this time.
Update: 7:20pm PST—
Closer examination of the videos appears to indicate that the vehicle is an M577 based on the number of antenna guards on its roof. The M577s typically have more of these fixtures than the M1068s.
Update: 12/6/2018, 7:30am PST—
The Virginia State Police has still not named the suspect, but has now said that the chase covered a total of approximately 60 miles before the driver apparently came to a stop after hitting a curb. As we surmised, unable to stop the vehicle themselves, they said they chose to escort the M577 to keep bystanders safe.
Despite initial reports that suggested the individual had surrendered to police willingly, the Associated Press has since reported that police officered used a dog and a taser to subdue the suspect after they exited the vehicle and began walking around. Images have no emerged of the M577 after the incident had come to an end.
We have finished updates on this post! You can find our follow-up with the latest information here.
Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com
