A gunman who shot a Virginia state trooper in the chest at a Greyhound bus station in the US city of Richmond is dead.

Local media earlier reported the trooper had died, but the Virginia State Police says he has been critically wounded and is being treated.

His family is being rushed to the hospital.

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Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said only one trooper, not two as earlier stated, had been shot, along with two civilians who have non-life threatening injuries.

She would not confirm the details around the shooting.

The incident happened just after the troopers had finished a drug-training exercise operation at the station, near Richmond’s Diamond baseball stadium, at about 5.45am on Friday.

Local television station NBC12 says the officers involved in the training were supposed to shake hands with locals and introduce themselves straight after the exercise when a man went up to an officer and shot him in the chest.

Ms Geller would not comment on the reports, but said the shooting happened just inside the bus depot when the trooper was approached by the man who “pulled out a gun and shot the trooper.

Two troopers nearby returned fire.

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The male shooter is still to be positively identified,” Ms Geller told reporters at the scene.

“The investigation remains ongoing, the bus terminal has been cleared.”

The state police are leading the investigation with support from local police and the FBI.

Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones has spoken with Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and “the city and state are working collaboratively to respond to this incident”.

Witness Brendan Hamilton told NBC affiliate WWBT that he first heard two loud gunshots as he was about to enter the bus station.

Then “there were five, maybe 10 more after that”, Hamilton said of the gunfire.
He saw people running from the station and left “as fast as I could”.