4 Dead in Violence Across Northern Virginia

There is an average of about three murders per year in Manassas, Va., so to have three happen in one night is definitely out of the ordinary.

But that's just what happened Thursday night, as three people were killed and three others were injured in two shootings in Manassas, police said.

The first shooting happened at about 7:30 p.m. on Hood Road. Police say two people died in that shooting and two others were wounded.  All four were family members.

Melissa King, the niece and cousin of the two victims from the first shooting, said Friday morning that her aunt had been a victim of domestic violence from her boyfriend.

"He'd been causing trouble but she was too afraid to call police," King said outside the home of one of the shootings. "They were a good, good family, just full of love and support. This was not drug-related. This was not gang-related ... it was just domestic violence."

King said she has lived in the same neighborhood as her aunt her entire life.

"I know it's a bad neighborhood with crime, but so many people came out last night to offer us support. It was really like one big family," she said. She called her aunt "one of the rocks in our
family. She'd give you her last piece of bread, her last dollar."

In the second shooting, about a quarter of a mile away on Brent Street, a man died and a woman was wounded with a knife or machete, police said.

Police believe the shootings are related. They have one person in custody.

That person was being considered a "person of interest" after he was pulled over by Prince William County police during a routine traffic stop shortly after the incidents.

More From Northern Virginia

In an unrelated incident in Loudoun County, investigators are trying to figure out who killed a man at a home on East Kennedy Road.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said it appears the incident was a botched home invasion robbery.

People in the home told investigators that two men burst in and tried to rob them.  They said one of the robbers was shot and still inside, while the other had fled the scene.

Deputies found the man in the home who was shot.  He was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The second person was apparently driven to the same hospital with a gunshot wound.  He was listed in critical but stable condition.  Deputies found the vehicle that took him to the hospital, but not the driver.

Investigators think the suspects and victims may have known each other.

Anyone with information should call 703-777-0445.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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