PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. – Matthew Bernard, the 18-year-old charged in a triple homicide in Keeling Tuesday morning, injured himself following his arrest.
Sheriff Mike Taylor confirmed that after Bernard was taken into custody, he banged his head repeatedly against the cage in the police cruiser. He was taken to several medical facilities before being placed in the Chatham Jail Tuesday afternoon. He is currently under a suicide watch.
Authorities said originally that Bernard was armed with a rifle. He was naked and unarmed at the time of his arrest just after noon Tuesday.
Sheriff Taylor confirmed that a firearm was involved and confirmed that a weapon has been recovered. He did say that investigators have determined how Bernard got the gun but offered no details.
Bernard faces three counts of first-degree murder in the apparent shooting deaths of his mother, sister, and the sister’s one-year-old son.