Off-Duty Homeland Security Officer Shot Armed Gainesville Man
GAINESVILLE, VA September 27 2022 — An off-duty Homeland Security officer shot an armed man in Gainesville on Sunday evening, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Authorities said the man had fired gunshots into the air.
Police identified the man as 29-year-old Pete Donovan Womack. Womack’s gunshot wound was not considered life-threatening, police said.
Womack is charged with one count of reckless handling of a firearm, one count of shooting within a roadway, and three counts of brandishing a firearm
If convicted, Womack could face up to four years in prison, based on Virginia’s sentencing guidelines.
Womack’s court date is pending and he remains hospitalized.
Authorities have not publicly identified the off-duty officer who shot Womack.
The shooting occurred around 5:45 p.m. on Sunday in the 14400 block of Clubhouse Road in Gainesville. Authorities said a man, later identified as Womack, was walking along the road and pointing a gun at passing drivers.
One of the drivers was an off-duty officer with the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service.
The officer pulled to the side of the road nearby and saw Womack fire gunshots into the air, according to the police report.
The off-duty officer said he warned nearby residents and contacted the Prince William County Police Department. Before local officers arrived, he confronted Womack near a home’s driveway, authorities said.
The officer identified himself as law enforcement and told Womack to drop the gun, police said. The off-duty officer fired his department-issued firearm and struck Womack in the upper body.
Prince William County police officers arrived on the scene and provided first aid to Womack until an ambulance arrived and took him to a nearby hospital.
No other injuries were reported in the shooting. The police department said officers found a gun at the scene.
