Shooting on Cowan Blvd., suspect arrested

BY COLLEEN HUBER

Multiple shots were fired and the residents of the Commons Apartment Complex on Cowen Boulevard were evacuated after the accused, Michael Bailey, allegedly shot his neighbor and barricaded himself in his apartment for six hours on Thursday Oct. 31.

Fredericksburg Police took Bailey, 50, a Fredericksburg resident, into custody at 2:20 a.m. on Nov. 1 and charged him with 13 felony offences, according an article in The Free Lance-Star.

Fredericksburg Police said Bailey broke into an apartment and stole a .22 caliber rifle and then proceeded to break into another residence and shoot a 52-year-old resident.  Police did not identify the resident.

Police previously arrested Bailey, also known as “Tennessee” and “Billy the Kid,” for assault on June 22.  He was later found not guilty, according to The Free Lance-Star.

Natatia Blesdoe, Fredericksburg Police spokeswoman, said the victim knew Bailey for about a year and a half, and they had many disputes over the time.

Bailey was charged with two counts of burglary, malicious wounding, attempted malicious wounding of a law enforcement officer, four counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm as a felony, shooting into an occupied dwelling, destruction of property, grand larceny of a firearm and another firearms charge, according to The Free Lance-Star article.

Bailey is currently held in the Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond.

Police from Fredericksburg and surrounding jurisdictions arrived on scene around 8:20 p.m. on Oct. 31 and found the victim outside his apartment with several gunshot wounds in his shoulder and back.

Police moved the gunshot victim to a safe place before the ambulance could take him to the Mary Washington Hospital because the armed shooter was still at large. The victim was released from the hospital the following morning.

Police surrounded the apartment complex and blocked off part of Cowan Boulevard. Residents remaining in their homes were told to stay in place unless otherwise notified.

Residents attempting to return to the Commons and Belmont were prohibited by the police blockade, according to The Free Lance-Star article.

Blesdoe said that at the beginning of the shooting, Bailey came out on his balcony and fired several shots. Bailey also fired several shots inside his apartment. No one was harmed in either instance.

At one point during the shooting, Bailey aimed his weapon at an officer without shooting and the officer responded by firing a shot at Bailey, although it did not appear that Bailey was shot. Police are still investigating the possibility that he was, according to Blesdoe.

Police said that Bailey was alone in his apartment for the entirety of the standoff and they were able to make contact with Bailey in the beginning, but there were a few moments in which they received no response, according to The Free Lance-Star article.

Bailey suffered numerous wounds to his face and hands. It is unclear where the injuries came from, but police said they saw Bailey holding a gun and breaking out windows during the incident.

According to The Free Lance-Star, State Police, Prince William Police, and the Stafford, Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg’s Sheriffs Offices assisted Fredericksburg Police during the shooting.