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Police: Man follows woman, shoots her near mobile home park in James City County

A woman from York County told officers a man followed her while she was walking. He caught up to her. She fought with him. He shot her.

JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. — Police were working to find a man who they say shot a woman after he followed her Thursday afternoon.

The shooting happened a little after 12 p.m. on Adams Road near Gibson's Mobile Home Park (Gibson Mobile Home Estates).

When officers got there, a 20-year-old woman from York County told them she was walking on Adams Road and noticed someone following her. 

She started walking a bit more quickly and said when the man caught up to her, he grabbed her from behind. She fell. They struggled. She noticed he had a pocketknife.

The woman told police she was able to pull away from him. At that point, he took out a small, dark handgun and shot her in the lower left leg. 

Medics took her to Riverside Regional Medical Center where she was treated and released.

Police said the man got away.

He's described as a black male, standing at 5'11" tall and weighing between 150 and 170 pounds. He was wearing black pants, a black pullover hoodie, a black scarf-style mask and royal blue winter-type gloves.

Chad and Niki Baniowski said they heard a single gunshot. However, they didn’t believe it at first.

“We talked ourselves out of thinking it was a gunshot, because it's not something you hear around here,” Baniowski said. "That's why it was so shocking, and we thought it was loud boards hitting each other.

The Baniowski's live at Gibson Mobile Home Estates.

“It's scary, we have too many kids out here for stray bullets to begin with,” Baniowski said. “Maybe it's time to start talking about a slight neighborhood watch, but we need to be aware.”

Right now, police don’t know if the shooter and the woman have a relationship, or if this was a random act of violence.

If anyone knows anything about this shooting or the suspect, they're asked to call James City County Police Department at 757-253-1800. You also can call Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.

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