Virginia police were searching for a 'very dangerous' murder suspect. He was caught naked, TV video shows
Virginia sheriff's deputies on Tuesday arrested a naked man wanted in connection to a triple homicide that left two women and a child dead.
Before he was arrested, Matthew Bernard, 18, ran at a reporter at the scene, was maced by an officer and choked a church caretaker — all while naked, according to video captured by Virginia TV station WSET-TV.
In the video, which was shared on WSET's Facebook page, Bernard is seen running at an officer, who runs away. The officer eventually sprays mace in Bernard's direction and Bernard moves toward the cameraperson recording the video.
The video cuts away and Bernard is next seen running at a person near a car. Bernard begins to to choke the person before the officer intervenes. WSET identified the person as a church caretaker.
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Eventually, Bernard is captured by officers using a K-9.
In a statement to USA TODAY, Pittsylvania County Sheriff's Office investigator Devin Taylor said Bernard was arrested on three counts of first-degree murder.
Earlier in the day, Pittsylvania County's public safety Facebook page asked citizens to be on the lookout for Bernard and advised he was armed with a rifle and "very dangerous."
The page followed that post with an update saying Bernard had been located.
Taylor said deputies responded to a 911 call around 8 a.m. Tuesday. Law enforcement arrived to find a woman dead in the driveway. When deputies entered the house, they found two more bodies, a woman and a child, according to Taylor's statement.
Two of the victims were the wife and child of Blake Bivens, a Double-A pitcher in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. ESPN on Tuesday reported that Bernard is the brother of Bivens' wife. The sheriff's office did not confirm the identities of any of the victims.
"The names of the deceased are being held until family members are notified," Taylor said. "Investigators are still on-scene collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses. A first court appearance has not been scheduled."
Another Virginia television station, WDBJ-TV, reported seven schools were on lockdown while law enforcement officers searched for Bernard.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Naked Virginia man wanted in triple murder captured by police
