Virginia state trooper badly wounded in bus station shooting - police

(Adds information from Greyhound)

By Gary Robertson

RICHMOND (Taiwan OTC: 2743.TWO - news) , Va., March 31 (Reuters) - A Virginia state trooper was clinging to life after being shot at a Richmond bus station on Thursday by a gunman who was fatally wounded after two police officers returned gunfire, a state police spokeswoman said.

The trooper approached a man at around 2:45 p.m. EDT (1845 GMT) who pulled out a gun and opened fire and was being treated for "life-threatening injuries," state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller told reporters.

"A Virginia State trooper encountered a male subject just inside the entrance way of the Greyhound bus station. While he was talking to this individual, the individual pulled out a gun and shot the trooper. Two troopers standing nearby returned gunfire," Geller said. "The shooting suspect was transported to the VCU medical Center where he died Thursday afternoon."

Two other people, both civilians, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the attack, Geller said. Greyhound said in a statement that no employees were injured.

Earlier local media reports that the trooper had died, that a second trooper had been injured and that as many as six people in total were injured in the attack were inaccurate, Geller said.

She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) declined to answer questions as to what may have provoked the attack or to confirm earlier reports that the police had been conducting a training exercise around the bus station at the time.

The trooper who was shot was in uniform, Geller said. The suspect's firearm had been recovered, she said.

Live television images showed the area around the bus station cordoned off with large numbers of police.

Greyhound, owned by FirstGroup PLC (LSE: FGP.L - news) , said the station was closed until further notice and the company was actively working with authorities to provide any information needed, including video surveillance that was captured.

Officials from the Richmond Police Department, the U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Henrico County Police, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security responded to the scene, Geller said.

Michael Bickett, who said he works directly across the street from the loading area from the buses said in a direct Twitter (Xetra: A1W6XZ - news) message. "A co-worker was eating lunch in his car when he saw Greyhound Workers and customers rushing out the side door. He figured that was a good time to get back inside."

(Additional reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle and Melissa Fares in New York; writing by Scott Malone and Eric Beech; editing by Mohammad Zargham, Diane Craft)