. The Sheriff’s Office was called to the scene of a home on Windsor Ridge Court in southern Stafford County at approximately 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday evening, June 7, 2016. The call was placed by the suspect’s mother asking the Sheriff’s Office to respond to the scene. Her son, Joshua Anthony Sumter, age 18, had broken into the residence after having been forbidden to live there or to return.

Several deputies responded to the scene and entered the home. As they were making their way up the stairs to determine the exact nature of the complaint, they saw a man lying on the floor in an upstairs bedroom. Deputies challenged him to show his hands. He then displayed a gun and began shooting. The deputy returned fire. One of the deputies was hit four times, striking him in his upper chest, arm, hip and thigh. The body armor that he was wearing protected him from a potentially life-ending round. The deputy, whose name is being withheld, was taken to a local hospital for initial treatment. He was transported for surgery to another medical facility. The surgery is scheduled for early this afternoon. His current condition is serious but stable.

The injured deputy has nearly two years of experience as a patrol deputy.

After the gunfire, Sumter fled on foot. Initial arrest warrants were obtained from the Magistrate for four counts of Attempted Capital Murder, Aggravated Malicious Wounding and four counts of Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony. Immediately following the incident, surveillance was set up at several locations known to the suspect. Sumter was taken into custody in the Thomas Jefferson Place neighborhood without incident or injury.

While being escorted from the Sheriff’s Office to the jail, Sumter attempted a violent escape and assaulted a deputy, but was quickly taken back into custody. Charges from that attempt include Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer and Escape with Force. Sumter was transported to the Rappahannock Regional Jail where he is held without bond. His booking photo is below.