CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Police will be out in force today along the Interstate 64 corridor, where at least two shooters fired bullets randomly at passing cars early yesterday morning.

Two motorists sustained minor injuries from the gunfire, which came from the roadside and an overpass.

Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. W. Steven Flaherty urged motorists on I-64 in western Albemarle County to be watchful today and through the week.

"I think everybody needs to be observant. We all need to be cautious. . . . I think they [the shooters] could still be in the area."

Flaherty said he has a strategy to deal with the possibility of more shootings in addition to bolstering police numbers, but he declined to reveal it. State and local police cars, some with lights flashing, were stationed on overpasses and crossovers yesterday on the stretch of I-64 from Charlottesville to Afton where the shootings occurred.

Police believe more than one person was involved in the random firing, based on what witnesses saw at the site of one shooting, Flaherty said. At least one shooter was male. They have no suspects, however, or reason for the shootings.

"I can't speak with any authority as to what their motives were," Flaherty said.

Authorities are also investigating two incidents of random, wild shooting in Waynesboro early yesterday morning. Waynesboro Police Sgt. Kelly Walker said the DuPont Community Credit Union bank building was fired on, breaking out a first-floor window. The bank sign was also struck by a bullet as was a van parked at the bank. The shooting occurred between midnight and 2 a.m.

The bank's surveillance camera caught an image of a late-model, light-color AMC Gremlin with a broad stripe down its side, which may have been driven by the shooters, Walker said.

Walker said police are also investigating complaints about a shot fired at a house in Waynesboro around 1:30 a.m. A shell casing was found at the scene. "We're certainly looking to see if this is all connected," Walker said.

Police closed about 20 miles of the interstate for six hours yesterday morning after receiving multiple reports of gunfire that started around midnight. Police are still uncertain how many shots were fired or the duration of the shooting. "We just don't have a good feel for how long it went on," Flaherty said.

A male motorist sustained an injury to his neck either from a bullet fragment or flying glass but drove himself to nearby Augusta Medical Center in Fishersville. The other injured driver, a woman, received a minor injury to her shoulder, possibly from debris thrown by the bullet penetrating her van. She was taken by ambulance to the Augusta center. Both were treated and released. Police refused to identify the two injured people, citing the ongoing investigation.

The shootings occurred at three locations along the interstate. One vehicle was struck by bullets as it drove on the westbound entrance ramp at the Ivy exit just west of Charlottesville at mile marker 114. Four other vehicles traveling in the westbound lane of I-64 were struck by gunfire coming from the Route 690 overpass near mile marker 106. That overpass is about 10 miles from the Ivy exit.

And an unoccupied vehicle, belonging to the Virginia Department of Transportation, was hit by two bullets while parked at the VDOT maintenance yard at Yancey Mills off U.S. 250, which parallels the interstate.

Corinne Geller, a state police spokeswoman, said police may receive more reports of cars being fired on as motorists who traveled through that section of I-64 hear the news of the shootings and check their vehicles. Investigators late yesterday were talking with a driver who belatedly called state police to say his car had been struck by gunfire. This would raise the total number of vehicles struck by bullets to seven.

Each vehicle is being treated like a crime scene, said state police Sgt. Dave Cooper. He said the interstate was closed down after police received a second call from a motorist who had been fired on.

The closing of the interstate backed up traffic for miles as police, using dogs and a helicopter, began a massive hunt for the shooters. Albemarle County closed its public schools yesterday as did several private schools in the western part of the county.

"There was a lot of uncertainty as to the level of danger to students and staff," said Lee Catlin, a county spokeswoman.

At one point, police swarmed around someone at Western Albemarle High School, which is in the area of the shootings, but the person turned out to be the school's janitor, Flaherty said.

Charlottesville and Albemarle canceled parks and recreation activities last night, spokesmen said.

Police have been receiving reports from residents of other shots being fired along I-64 in the Greenwood and Crozet areas, but none have been verified. State police had received more than 50 leads by late yesterday afternoon.

"People are really trying to help us," Flaherty said.

Authorities will not say whether a handgun or a rifle was used in the shootings. But Flaherty said the same caliber weapon was used at all three shooting sites. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is examining shell casings recovered at some of the crime scenes.

"We're following up on any leads and all leads," said Cooper, the state police sergeant, who asked that anyone with information call the state police at (434) 293-3223 or Crime Stoppers at (434) 977-4000. "Any little bit of information is important in an investigation like this."
Contact Carlos Santos at (434) 295-9542 or csantos@timesdispatch.com.

Staff writer Calvin R. Trice contributed to this report.