Police in Virginia have arrested a naked man suspected of killing two women and a child who were reportedly related to Tampa Bay Rays minor-league player Blake Bivens.
Matthew Thomas Bernard, 18, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder, authorities say.
Police in Keeling, Va., warned that a dangerous gunman in a white T-shirt and jeans was on the loose Tuesday, after three bodies were found at a home in the city.
Pittsylvania County Sheriff Mike Taylor said the suspect is related to the victims. One woman was found dead in the driveway and the other two victims were inside the home, he told USA Today.
The victims included Bivens’ wife, his mother-in-law and his young child, ESPN reports.
Schools went into lockdown mode and police brought in a tank, an armoured vehicle and approximately 100 officers for the search.
The suspect was eventually spotted running naked through a wooded area in the community. Local TV cameras were rolling as the naked man was chased by — and occasionally gave chase to — a police officer.
The footage also shows the suspect trying to choke a caretaker outside the Keeling Baptist Church.
The caretaker, whom the New York Times identified as 75-year-old Lloyd Gaudlin, said he was not injured.
“I said, ‘Oh Lord, what have I gotten myself into?'” Gaudlin told the Times.
One of the pursuing officers sprayed the suspect with mace and struck him with a baton.
He was captured at a barricade with the help of a K-9 unit.
“This is a shock to our community,” Sheriff Mike Taylor told the Danville Register & Bee. “It’s just a reminder of how fragile life is.”
Bivens, 24, is currently a pitcher for the Rays’ minor-league affiliate, the Montgomery Biscuits, in Alabama.
The Rays and the Biscuits acknowledged the incident in separate statements late Tuesday.
“Earlier today, we learned that one of our players, Blake Bivens, suffered unimaginable loss,” Biscuits CEO and managing owner Lou DiBella wrote. “The Biscuits’ thoughts and prayers are with Blake and all those who have been impacted by this tragedy.”
“We’re with you, Blake,” the Rays wrote in a tweet with their statement on Tuesday.
Bivens was drafted by the Rays in 2014.
His Facebook page shows he and his wife, Emily, lived together with their young child in Danville, Va., approximately 20 kilometres south of Keeling.
Bivens’ son marked his first birthday on June 10, according to his Facebook page.
A young man named Matthew Bernard is listed as Facebook friends with Blake and Emily Bivens.
The murder suspect is being held in custody pending a court appearance.
—With files from Reuters and The Associated Press