The Medical Examiner in Richmond has determined Austin “Gus” Deeds died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound from a rifle.
Gus Deeds, a former College of William and Mary student, is believed to have stabbed his father, Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath), several times in the head and upper torso at their Bath County home during an altercation early Tuesday. Creigh Deeds left the scene on foot after the stabbing, walking to a road near the house where his cousin who was driving on the road picked him up, according to the Virginia State Police.
Creigh Deeds was airlifted to the University of Virginia’s hospital with life-threatening injuries. He is now listed as being in good condition.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Wednesday the state has launched an investigation into why Gus Deeds was released from an emergency custody order 13 hours before the altercation. The Office of the Inspector General’s Behavioral Health Division has started the investigation after it was revealed Deeds was released by a regional mental health agency in Bath County because no psychiatric bed was available for him to be held for further evaluation and inpatient treatment.
Gus Deeds was released at 6:30 p.m. Monday, after the state’s limit on involuntary detention had expired. The agency had been unable to find a bed to hold him on a 48-hour temporary detention order, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Virginia State Police Spokesperson Corinne Geller said in a news release Wednesday a weapon believed to have been used to attack Creigh Deeds was found at the scene. The type of weapon won’t be released until the Virginia Department of Forensic Evidence confirms whether the weapon was used in the attack.
Geller said deputies from the Bath County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Deeds residence Monday for a non-emergency call for assistance. No arrest was made at that point, and no charges were placed. Prior to that, there aren’t any records of 911 or non-emergency calls for assistance to the residence.
When deputies from the Bath County Sheriff’s Office and troopers from the Virginia State Police responded to the house Tuesday morning, Gus Deeds was still alive. Despite the effort of first responders, he died at the scene.
There is no record as to whom the firearm Gus Deeds used to shoot himself belonged, as the state of Virginia does not keep records of that sort other than for machine guns.
WYDaily spoke Tuesday with a librarian at the College of William and Mary who knew Gus Deeds. A Tuesday letter to students and faculty from Ginger Amber, the College of William and Mary’s vice president for student affairs, said Gus Deeds was a music major with a strong academic major. He had withdrew from the College of William and Mary in October.
Creigh Deeds was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2009. He lost that race to Gov. Bob McDonnell. Creigh Deeds ran against McDonnell for the attorney general job in 2005 in a race he also lost. He has served in the Virginia Senate since 2001, representing all of Alleghany, Bath, Highland, Nelson and Rockbridge counties along with the cities of Buena Vista, Covington, Lexington and Charlottesville. Prior to that, he served the House of Delegates from 1992 to 2001.
Correction A previous version of this article referred to Gus Deeds by an incorrect name. The error has been corrected.
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