Wintergreen Virginia police officer shot and killed
WINTERGREEN, Va. June 17 2023 — Police officer Mark Christopher “Chris” Wagner II died Friday night after a confrontation with a Maryland man in the woods near Arrowood Lane, according to officials with Virginia State Police and the Wintergreen Police Department.
Wagner was called to the Arrowood Lane home at about 10 p.m. Friday, according to Virginia State Police who are handling the investigation.
“An emergency call came into the Wintergreen Police Department about the suspect assaulting two other adult males at the residence they were all staying at on Arrowood Lane,” a Virginia State Police spokesperson wrote in an email. “After calling police, the two injured males fled the residence on foot.”
Police said when Wagner arrived, he found the suspect, later identified as 23-year-old Daniel M. Barmak, of Towson, Md., in the nearby woods, and “a struggle ensued.”
“During the course of the struggle over Wagner’s department-issued handgun, Barmak shot and killed the officer,” the Virginia State Police spokesperson wrote. “Barmak was also shot during the encounter.”
“During the course of the struggle, the officer was shot and died at the scene,” the Virginia State Police spokesperson wrote.
Officials said Barmak was taken into custody “without further incident by Wintergreen Police and the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office.”
Both Barmak and the two 23-year-old men who ran from the Arrowood Lane home were taken to UVA Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
“Inside the residence, state police recovered illegal narcotics,” troopers said. “Wagner’s department-issued handgun was recovered at the shooting scene in the woods.”
Wagner’s remains were taken to the Office of the Medical Examiner for examination and autopsy.
The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Appomattox Field Office is investigating the incident at the request of Wintergreen’s police chief.
STATEMENT FROM THE NELSON COUNTY OFFICE OF THE COMMONWEALTH’S ATTORNEY:
The Nelson County Commonwealth’s Attorney is working with the Virginia State Police during the ongoing criminal investigation. We extend our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Officer Wagner’s family, the Wintergreen Police Department, and Wintergreen community. The Commonwealth Attorney’s Office is committed to pursuing a just and legal resolve to this case.
Wintergreen is Blue Ridge Mountain town.
About a 90-minute drive from Richmond, the Blue Ridge Mountain town of Wintergreen is best known for its golf and ski Wintergreen Resort. Arrowwood Lane appears on the Wintergreen Resort map as part of the property. The Wintergreen Police Department is a private police agency that serves the 17-square-mile Wintergreen community and, at times, areas of Nelson County.
“All patrol officers and communications personnel graduated from approved criminal justice academies in Virginia, and they complete in-service and advanced training as set by state guidelines,” the department states on its website.
The department consists of a chief, two administrators, six communication officers, and eight patrol officers, according to the department’s website.
“Wintergreen is a very safe place, but we do have crime here,” the department’s website states. “The numbers we report should not be shocking. Last year we had to report an increase in both crimes against persons and property crimes. The good news is in 2022 those kinds of issues fell back to normal levels for Wintergreen, maybe even a bit lower than average. We also saw the same domestic disturbances reports this year as last.”
