Shooting death is under investigation

ENNICE - The death of a Hispanic woman who suffered a gunshot wound to the midsection of her body on Nov. 29 is being investigated by the Alleghany County Sheriffs Department.

Gloria Alicia Vera, 22, was declared dead at Twin County Regional Hospital in Galax, Va. at 9:30 p.m., just moments after arriving at the facility.

Capt. Carlton Edwards said Monday that the Alleghany department was called in when hospital officials realized that the shooting may have occurred in this county.

Edwards said investigators have not ruled out the possibility that the wound was accidentally or otherwise self-inflicted, but other options are also being probed.

The results of an autopsy, expected within the next seven days, should offer more insight into the incident, Edwards said.

"This incident is still under investigation," Edwards said. "We'll know more when we get the autopsy report."

The incident began in a mobile home on Higgins Road where a number of people had congregated, including Vera, Edwards' report said.

"Witnesses at the scene said the victim was in a back room with a Hispanic male and they heard a gunshot," Edwards said. "The victim walked into the living room and said, 'Take me to the hospital.'"

The names of others at the scene were not available Monday afternoon. The woman was then loaded into the back of a Toyota pickup truck and driven to the hospital in Galax.

The weapon that inflicted the damage, a .38 pistol, has been recovered, Edwards commented Monday. The bullet entered the woman's abdomen near her navel, but did not exit.

No charges had been filed as of presstime, nor had the incident been ruled suicide or accidental.
 
 

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