2 deputies slain, 2 wounded in small Va. town

(CBS/AP) VANSANT, Va. - A small former coal mining town in the mountainous region of southwestern Virginia is dealing with a deadly shooting rampage that this time killed two deputies and wounded two more before the suspect was fatally shot by police.

Buchanan County deputies investigating at Roger's Service Center in Vansant on Sunday afternoon were met by gunfire from long range, police reported.

Police say the suspect may have been trying to rob the salvage yard.

Two were hit and died at the scene, and two others who arrived were also shot. Of the two who are still alive, one deputy has life-threatening injuries and the other is in serious condition, state police said. Names have yet to be released.

This was not the first brush with seemingly senseless violence for residents of Vansant, Va. In Jan. 2002 a student opened fire on the Appalachian School of Law campus in Grundy, just down the road from Vansant, after he learned he had flunked out of school.

The school's dean, a professor and a student were killed in the attack. Three other students were wounded. Peter Odighizuwa, the shooter, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.

In the latest shooting, the owner of salvage yard told police his business was being robbed and he had blocked the suspect's vehicle with his own.

While police didn't release what sort of weapon was used, police say the suspect shot from long range.

After the shooting, police searched for the suspect. State police and other officers found him about two hours later and after "some sort of engagement" they shot and killed him, police said.

Despite the recent shootings, residents said such violence is rare in the rural area of about 1,000 residents.

According to the website The Officer Down Memorial Page, the last Buchanan County sheriff to die in the line of duty was in 1975 of a heart attack. The website lists four on-duty deaths for the department since 1905. The last by gunfire was in 1964.