Police tape
A state trooper and two civilians were shot outside of a Greyhound bus station. Getty

A gunman and a Virginia State Trooper were killed following a shooting at a Greyhound bus station in Richmond, Virginia on 31 March. Virginia State Police Spokeswoman Corinne Geller said that two civilians were also injured in the shooting that took place around 2.45pm EDT/7.45pm GMT.

Geller said that the shooting occurred towards the end of a counter-drug training mission involving state police, according to NBC News. As part of the training, the uniformed state trooper approached a man at the entrance of the bus station. It was then that the man pulled a gun and shot the trooper at close range.

Two nearby officers returned fire, hitting the suspect, who was taken to hospital where he died. The two civilians were shot after the trooper was hit, Geller revealed. Multiple patients from the shooting were taken to VCU Medical Center in Richmond, the hospital confirmed.

Earlier reports indicated the trooper had died, but Geller said the trooper is alive. The trooper later died, several reports claimed. "The trooper is suffering from life-threatening injuries and is being treated in the hospital," Geller said at the time. "As you can imagine, the chaos of the moment ... it was determined only one state trooper was injured."

Greyhound tweeted that the Richmond bus station is closed until further notice. "We are actively working with the authorities," Greyhound officials said, according to USA Today.

"I have spoken with the Mayor of Richmond and the Superintendent of the Virginia State Police and offered whatever state resources may be necessary to respond to this situation," Governor Terry McAuliffe said in a statement. "Our public safety team and I will continue to monitor the situation and support State Police and local authorities in their response and investigation of this incident."

According to ABC News, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI assisted on the scene.