Rangers Involved In Fatal Shooting

A ranger noted suspicious activity involving a 1999 Ford minivan and its two occupants on Skyline Drive just before 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 8th. The ranger followed, calling in the license plate. The van came back as being associated with an attempted homicide at Fort Eustis, a military installation in eastern Virginia; an advisory said that its occupants should be considered armed and dangerous. The ranger called for backup and continued to follow the van. A second ranger, Virginia State Police troopers and Page County deputies responded. The rangers attempted to stop the van, but the driver, Christopher Lanum, 25, refused to stop and a 14-mile-long pursuit ensued. Additional troopers and Warren County deputies positioned themselves at the north end of the drive to keep the van from entering the city of Front Royal, and another ranger placed a spike strip at the entrance station to deflate the van’s tires. The van’s tires blew out when it hit the strip, but it continued on until it struck a non-police vehicle. As officers approached the stopped van, they saw that Lanum had a firearm. Shots were fired and Lanum was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger inside the minivan sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the shooting. Investigators are continuing with evidence collection and analysis and are awaiting lab results on toxicology and ballistics tests. The trooper and rangers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave with pay on Sunday pending the outcome of internal agency investigations into the matter, which is in accordance with standard Virginia State Police and National Park Service policies. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Park Service and Virginia State Police are conducting the joint investigation. Also assisting with the case is the United States Attorney’s Office of the Western District and officials from Fort Eustis, an Army facility in eastern Virginia.