Two people were shot in South Boston, Virginia early Saturday morning after gunfire erupted near Seymour Drive and Marshall Avenue, sending one victim by helicopter to a Roanoke hospital and leading police to arrest a 39-year-old Halifax County man who showed up at a local emergency room with a bullet wound of his own.
South Boston Police Department officers were dispatched to the Seymour Drive and Marshall Avenue area around 2:30 a.m. Saturday after reports of shots fired, according to The Gazette-Virginian. Officers found one man suffering gunshot wounds to the arm and chest, and that victim was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Roanoke, per the same report. A second man later turned up at Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital with a gunshot wound to the inside of his thigh, and authorities were alerted to his presence there.
Police identified that second patient as 39-year-old Andrew Howerton of Halifax County. Investigators determined the two incidents were related, and officers arrested Howerton after he received treatment, charging him with malicious wounding. Jail records show he is being held with no bond, the outlet reports.
Casings Found Scattered Across Seymour Drive
Investigators collected multiple pistol cartridge casings from the roadway and a parking lot across from 1633 Seymour Drive, according to the article. Separately, regional radio station WBTM 102.5 reported that officers responding to the 2:30 a.m. 911 calls located the shell casings scattered in that same roadway and lot, corroborating the scene details gathered by investigators.
Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital, where Howerton was treated, operates a 24-hour emergency department at 2204 Wilborn Avenue offering Fast-Track care for non-fatal trauma and walk-in injuries, according to Sentara Healthcare. But the 192-bed acute-care hospital does not operate a designated trauma center, meaning patients with critical trauma must be stabilized locally before being airlifted to regional Level I trauma centers, per documentation from VCOM. That distinction appears to explain why the more critically wounded victim needed helicopter transport to Roanoke while Howerton was treated and later arrested in South Boston.
Potential Prison Time Under Virginia Law
Malicious wounding is classified as a Class 3 felony under Virginia Code § 18.2-51, carrying a statutory penalty of five to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $100,000 upon conviction, according to the Leiva Law Firm. That means Howerton faces significant prison exposure if prosecutors prove he acted with malice and intended to maim, disfigure, disable or kill. Investigator Carlton Redd is leading the ongoing investigation, and authorities have not detailed what relationship, if any, existed between Howerton and the man airlifted to Roanoke.
A Street With a History of Gunfire
Saturday's shooting was not an isolated event on Seymour Drive. Just three days earlier, on September 23, South Boston police and emergency services conducted an active search for an armed and dangerous suspect in the same Seymour Drive area, prompting C.H. Friend School to close its campus as a precaution, according to a statement from the school.
The street has seen other armed incidents in recent years. In April 2021, a gunman robbed a South Boston convenience store and a customer inside, per WSLS 10. A separate shooting was reported on North Main Street in November 2020.
South Boston Police Department asked anyone with information about Saturday's shooting to call 434-575-7203, per The Gazette-Virginian.
