COVINGTON, Va. – A police officer and two others are dead following a shooting at a Covington gas station. The dead include the shooter and a Covington police officer.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Monday, Virginia State Police were notified of a shooting at a gas station in Covington.

42-year-old Toney S. Poulston of Covington entered the gas station and a domestic situation happened between Paulston and a relative who was worked at the store, 64-year-old Randall Lee Paxton, of Covington.

The disagreement escalated and Poulston shot Paxton.

The Covington Police and the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office responded to the store when they learned of Poulston’s “erratic and escalating behavior.”

Upon arrival, officers encountered Poulston armed with a pistol coming out of the store. Shots were fired, which resulted in the death of Poulston and a Covington police officer. Another female employee was not injured.

Both the woman and Paxton were employees of the business, were married to one another and related to Poulston.

All three bodies will be transported to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Roanoke for examination and autopsy.

The Virginia State Police, Town of Covington Police Department and Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene. VSP’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Salem Field Office is investigating the shooting.

Photo courtesy WTVR