By BRYAN MCKENZIE/Daily Progress
Published: March 27, 2008

Albemarle County police tonight will increase patrols and presence in western Albemarle County, where at least one gunman opened fire on Interstate 64 motorists, slightly wounding two.
“To increase security in the area, we plan on increasing our presence through the county police and help from the Virginia State Police,” said Lee Catlin, county spokesman. “How that takes place, we’re not willing to say right now.”
Police continue to investigate the early morning shootings that struck four vehicles and wounded two travelers on Interstate 64.
Meanwhile, Charlottesville and Albemarle County parks and recreation officials announced they are canceling classes and events scheduled for this evening to ensure safety of participants.
Albemarle County school officials canceled classes today to prevent school-bound students from becoming potential targets.
Police from at least five agencies are searching for two people seen at the time when shots were fired at vehicles traveling on the interstate. Shots came from the overpass at Route 690 - Greenwood Station Road - and the Ivy exit on the interstate at exit 114. Shots were also fired at the Virginia Department of Transportation facility in Yancey Mills.
A Swoope man was treated at Augusta Medical Center for a shoulder injury after a bullet hit the windshield of his Mazda 3. A woman in the vehicle was not injured.
A woman hit while driving a van was also treated for minor injuries, police said.
Police closed a 20-mile stretch from milepost 96 in Augusta County near Waynesboro to U.S. 29 in Albemarle County from midnight to about 7 a.m.
Catlin said the evening’s increased enforcement effort would include an increased number of officers on the county’s roads. Depending on the investigation, other techniques may also be used, including roadblocks, she said.
“It depends on what happens,” she said. “We prefer not to go into details.”
Col. Steve Flaherty, of the Virginia State Police, told reporters at a news conference this morning that residents can help by reporting anything out of place.
“We’re planning right now what we’re going to do until we can get our arms around this and make sure it’s safe,” Flaherty said. “In the meantime, everybody needs to observant and cautious.”
Police also are investigating a burglary-in-progress with gunshots fired that may have been related to the highway incidents, and they are looking into other incidents of shots fired into cars and homes. So far, those incidents have not been linked to the interstate shootings.
Flaherty declined to say what type of gun was used but said the same caliber weapon was used in the three shooting locations, the two on the interstate and the Yancey Mills VDOT facility. He couldn’t say for sure if all the shots were fired by the same weapon.
Shell casings recovered at the overpass and Ivy exit sites are being sent for ballistics tests, he said.
Lee Catlin, county spokeswoman, said officials were worried that students driving to school or waiting at bus stops could be in danger.
“With the investigation still going on, and so many unknowns, there was concern for the safety of students and staff,” Catlin said. “We were concerned about students driving to school and waiting for buses with the investigation and search continuing.”
Reports of damage from gunshots have come in from around Greenwood, Crozet and the Yellow Mountain areas of Albemarle County
Jim Sacco and Cleve Wiese of the News Virginian contributed to this story.