PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — A man said he witnessed the abduction of a woman in Upstate New York Wednesday who later died in Northern Virginia where state police said her accused abductor got into a shoot-out with troopers.
The exchange of gunfire took place along I-95 in Prince William County. When it ended, the body of Tatiana David, 34, of Ithaca, N.Y. was outside the SUV driven by Michael Davis, 34, of North Chesterfield, Va.
James Rice, who lives in Upstate New York, told our station in Syracuse, WSYR, he witnessed David’s abduction outside her apartment, which is below his family’s home.
“Man, I wish I could have done something,” said Rice. “I was actually half awake when it happened, but I was trying to go back to sleep because I was still tired, but then the screaming kept me up. I was like, ‘What’s the screaming?’ So, then I looked out and then that’s when I seen her get kidnapped and everything, and nothing I could have done.”
New York authorities put out an alert after David’s disappearance, sharing pictures of her and Davis. A news release from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services Wednesday indicated Davis may be headed to New York City. Around 9:40 p.m., however, a Virginia State Police trooper in Fairfax County, Va. spotted the SUV Davis was driving with the wrong license plates.
VSP said the trooper pulled the SUV over, and that it was during the course of the traffic stop that the trooper realized Davis was wanted for David’s abduction. State police said Davis sped off and crashed twice, ending up in a wooded area the second time.
VSP said troopers surrounded the SUV and that Davis shot at them. Police fired back.
While police in New York said David was found shot outside of the SUV, they did not indicate who shot her. A spokeswoman for Virginia State Police told DC News Now a medical examiner would determine how David died.
Medics flew Davis to the hospital with critical injuries.
State police said no officers were hurt in the shoot-out, but those involved were placed on administrative leave.
