Relatives: Man in deadly Virginia shooting rampage had warned of attack over property dispute

Relatives say Virginia shooter warned of attack

LOUISA, Va. — Relatives of a Virginia man who fatally shot two people and wounded four others say he had warned of going on a rampage.

Police say Charles P. Steadman Sponaugle shot and killed his son and nephew and wounded four other relatives Sunday before being killed by sheriff’s deputies.

Authorities say he was involved in a dispute with relatives over the family property in central Virginia.

Sponaugle’s sister, Kitty Cooper, was among the wounded. Cooper says her brother indicated months ago that he planned to kill his son and two others relatives.

And Cooper’s husband, Mark A. Cooper Sr., who also was wounded Sunday, said Sponaugle told a relative two days before the shootings that “he was going to kill a bunch of people.”

Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, www.timesdispatch.com