Reports out of Bridgewater, Va., indicate the parents of Matt Gardner, the Colorado Crush receivers coach, were shot at Sunday morning by a neighbor as they drove by the neighbor’s house.
Carol W. Gardner, 54, died at the scene. William Allen Gardner was reported in fair condition Monday at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville.
The Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va., reported Jonathan T. Grattan, 23, was arrested Monday after a 20-hour standoff with police. Grattan surrendered without incident, but had fired on police from his family’s house earlier in the incident.
Grattan was in the house with his grandmother during the standoff.
According to authorities, Grattan has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted malicious murder and six counts of attempted murder for shooting at the Gardners as well as at police.
The incident occurred in a rural area outside of Bridgewater, a community two hours southwest of Washington. There were no indications of the distances between the Gardner and Grattan houses and authorities wouldn’t say if there had been problems between the two families.
The Daily News-Record reported police files indicated authorities had been called to the Grattan house before.
Crush coach Mike Dailey said there had been brief communication between the team and Matt Gardner, but additional details weren’t available.
“Everything still is pretty vague and pretty strange,” Dailey said. “Matt left from the Pepsi Center with just the clothes on his back. We tried to find out if he needed anything.”
The Crush beat visiting Orlando 75-54 on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s a sad situation and everyone still is in shock today,” Dailey said.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
