PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. – Matthew Bernard, 19, is in the custody of the Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Department after he allegedly killed three family members at their home Tuesday morning.

Investigators have yet to release the victims’ names but family members say Matthew Bernard shot and his mother, sister, her young daughter and a dog. Bernard was arrested following an extensive manhunt by local and state law enforcement officers, who had said earlier that he was armed with a rifle.

Bernard was naked and unarmed when he was taken into custody early Tuesday afternoon. A motive has not been disclosed.

Sheriff’s investigators were called to 1949 Keeling Drive just after 8 a.m. after a neighbor found the body of a female victim in the driveway. Another female and her daughter were discovered shot to death inside the residence.

The Bernard family is well known in the community and run Paradise Lake Campground in Keeling. A family member tells this newsroom that the suspect attends church regularly and is a student at Danville Community College.

A section of Keeling Road was closed as police canvassed the area for Bernard. Schools were placed under lock down until he was apprehended. (Photo: Leonard Harville)

 

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