Gun Trace victim arrested

Man who received $8M settlement facing murder charge

A Baltimore man who recently received a nearly $8 million settlement from the city for the Gun Trace Task Force police scandal was arrested Thursday in Virginia for allegedly shooting a woman, then shooting at police during a pursuit.

Umar Burley, 50, was charged with malicious wounding and attempted murder, according to the Harrisonburg Police Department. Additional charges are pending related to the pursuit, Virginia State Police said.

Police said officers were called to a Motel 6 on Main Street south of downtown Harrisonburg around 10 a.m. for a shooting. A 32-year-old womanwas at the motel suffering from a gunshot wound to the face, police said, and was transported by air to the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville.

Harrisonburg Police Sgt. Scott Drugo said that the woman was engaged to Burley and that witnesses said they heard an argument just prior to hearing a gunshot.

“All indications tell us they were traveling together,” Drugo said.

The woman is in stable condition, police said, with serious injuries.

Witnesses told officers that Burley fled in a U-Haul truck, and police issued a “Be on the lookout” for the vehicle. A Virginia state trooper saw the truck traveling north on Interstate 81 and attempted to pulled it over. Police said Burley shot out the back window of the trooper’s vehicle and sped away.

Police pursued the truck and said at one point the driver rammed several police vehicles and sideswiped a van on Route 11. No one was reported hurt.

State police said the pursuit continued on Route 11 at speeds between 60 and 75 miles per hour, and police eventually were able to box the U-Haul in and force it off the road in Shenandoah County. State police said a gun was recovered at the scene.

“I’m heartbroken by the news, but at the same time caution that no one should jump to conclusions until we have a better understanding of what transpired,” said Burley’s civil attorney, Steve Silverman. “The allegations are not consistent with the man I have come to know.”

In November, Burley and his friend Brent Matthews were awarded a total of nearly $8 million after they served federal prison time because Baltimore