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James Brown III, 34, was killed Thursday after fatally shooting a Virginia state trooper 

The gunman who killed a Virginia state trooper at a busy bus terminal Thursday has been identified as a 34-year-old from Illinois.

A relative described the shooter, James Brown III of Aurora, Illinois, as an ex-con who 'always liked the criminal side.'

'He had a lot of anger about the police in the past,' said the gunman's aunt, Edith Brown, in an interview with CBS 6 Friday. 

'He pretty much thought he wanted to be infamous... in terms of having a showdown. He always praised those people who got into shootouts with police,' the aunt said.

'He said he would never go back to prison again,' Brown said of her nephew, who was also killed in Thursday's gunfight at a Greyhound bus station in Richmond.

'He would fight it out with them.'

Police did not give a motive for the shooting. 

Brown shot Trooper Chad P. Dermyer, 37, multiple times Thursday in Richmond before he was killed by two other troopers, police said. 

Chief Alfred Durham said Thursday that the gunman had a criminal record but did not elaborate. 

Court records obtained by CBS 6 showed Brown had been charged with murder, intent to kill, aggravated battery with a firearm, failure to obey police, resisting a corrections officer, aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, aggravated battery of an unborn child, numerous drug charges, intimidation, domestic battery, felony possession of a weapon, among many driving charges, the station reported. 

It is unclear whether or not Brown was convicted of any of the above charges.   

 

 

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Virginia state trooper Chad Dermyer, pictured right, died Thursday after being shot multiple times responding to a call at a Greyhound bus station in Richmond. In this November 2014 photo provided by the Virginia State Police, trooper Chad P. Dermyer poses for a photo as he receives his graduation diploma fromSuperintendent Col. W. Steven Flaherty, pictured left

 

 

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State trooper Chad Dermyer, 37, was shot dead by a gunman at a Greyhound station in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday

 

 

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Dermyer, a former member of the Marine Corps (pictured), became a Virginia State trooper in 2014

 

The first shot fired was ‘directly at the trooper’, Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said. The Virginia State Police were on a training exercise at the bus station when the gunman opened fire

 

 

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Police and rescue officials mingle with bus patrons outside the Greyhound Bus Station Thursday

A photo of Brown was released by the Aurora Police Department. 

Police there did not immediately provide background information on Brown, but confirmed to the Chicago Tribune that he was a 'prior resident' of the 600 block of North May Street.

Durham said law enforcement officers have become the target of 'folks out there with evil intentions.'

'It's unfortunate these are the days we're living in, where folks want to harm law enforcement,' Durham said. 

'We just want our officers to end their shifts and to go home to their families.'   

Dermyer had been participating with about a dozen other troopers in a training exercise at the bus station when a brief encounter with the gunman quickly turned violent, police said.

Two women also were shot but were expected to recover. 

Their names haven't been released, but spokesman Ryan Yarosh with Binghamton University in New York said Friday that one of the women was a member of the school's track team. 

The team was headed Thursday to a meet at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, about 50 miles from Richmond. 

Police say the slain trooper, the father of two children, was a native of Jackson, Michigan, and a former Marine who had served on the force in Jackson and Newport News, Virginia.

Dermyer was known as hard worker and good colleague, said Newport News Police Sgt. Gerald Loose. Dermyer worked for the Newport News Police Department from 2003 to 2007.

'He was a great guy,' Loose said.

Earlier this year, Dermyer and another trooper briefly became mini-celebrities when they rescued a lost dog running through interstate traffic in Hampton. The rescue was highlighted on WVEC TV and received widespread praise on social media.

Dermyer and his partner returned the dog, a miniature schnauzer named Pinta, to its owner Jeffrey Corbin. 

Corbin said Friday the brief meeting helped change his perception of state troopers.

'I don't have a lot of contact with state troopers, but in my mind's eye they seem to be all business,' Corbin said. 'But he seemed to be a really warm person... He had a warm persona about him.' 

 

 

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In this photo released by the Virginia State Police on Friday, the vehicle of Virginia State Trooper Dermyer is displayed at Virginia State Police Administrative Headquarters, in North Chesterfield, Virginia

 

 

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The Diamond, home of the Flying Squirrels, honors Virginia State Trooper Chad Dermyer on the day after his fatal shooting

 

 

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Richmond SWAT team members leave the Greyhound bus station Thursday after the shooting 

 

 

Stranded passengers wait to board buses at a bus maintenance facility near he Greyhound Bus Station in Richmond, Virginia

Dermyer was dressed in a fatigue-style uniform and was not wearing a protective vest when he was shot, said Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Steven Flaherty.

'We've got a lot of evidence to sift through,' Flaherty said. The evidence, he said, included bags that could have belonged to the Brown.

A Greyhound spokeswoman said the station would reopen Friday afternoon. 

She said there was surveillance video from the station during the time of the incident but was unsure whether it had been turned over to authorities.

A small army of law enforcement officers in tactical gear and dozens of cruisers and emergency response vehicles flooded to the station, in an area that includes a minor league baseball stadium and a variety of commercial establishments and restaurants.

Najee Wilson, 18, of Newark, New Jersey, said his bus was pulling up to the station when he heard three gunshots and saw people running out of the building.

'We heard a lot of people screaming,' Wilson said. 'It definitely was a scary experience.'

City Councilwoman Reva Trammell called it 'the saddest day in the city of Richmond.'

'State troopers doing their job and innocent people shot,' she said. 'Why? This was a senseless act.'

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe echoed her sentiments in a statement: 'This is a loss that impacts us all. It should inspire prayers for the family, friends and fellow troopers who are mourning tonight, and gratitude for those who protect and serve.'