UPDATE 1:15 PM: At a press conference this afternoon, officials say that the suspect, William Morva, has not been located, but is believed to be in the town of Blacksburg, wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt and khacki shorts. If sighted, do not approach him, call police immediately.

Blacksburg schools are closed until further notice.  The schools want parents with kids at Adventure Club to come and pick their children up. For additional information call the Montgomery County Public Schools at 382-5100.

UPDATE 12:45 P.M.: Virginia Tech employees north of Drill Field asked to leave campus. The university is asking that all employees on the north side of the Drill Field depart from work and leave for the day. When exiting the campus, please use the Prices Fork entrance. Southgate Drive remains closed. Further information for remaining employees will be provided as soon as possible.

Update 11:30 am.:Police have confirmed that the deputy shot this morning on the Huckleberry Trail has died. Corporal Eric E. Sutphin of the Montgomery County Sheriffs Department was shot around 7 am when he encountered William Morva, the man being sought in yesterday's shootings at Montgomery Regional Hospital.

Sutphin was the officer who was wounded when a man took Officer Scott Hylton's weapon and shot him in Christiansburg a couple of years ago. Sutphin was 47 years old and a 13 year veteran in law enforcement. He leaves behind a wife and twin daughters and his mother.

The manager at Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream in Blacksburg contacted NRVToday to announce that next Wednesday he will donate 50% of all sales to the families of the victims of the Morva shootings.

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Police at Squires

At a news conference was held a short while ago, Virginia Tech officials announced that they have closed school for the day. Students have been asked to return to dorms and remain there. All Tech employees should remain in their offices. Squires Student Center has been shutdown and evacuated by Squires management. A reported hostage situation at Squires has been checked out by police, who swept the building and found no evidence of a hostage. Those in the vicinity are asked to keep their doors locked and stay inside.

The Blacksburg Library has announced that it is closed until further notice, as well.  The Montgomery County Courthouse in Christiansburg has also closed until further notice.

Morva is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous. If you see him, do not attempt to approach him, call law enforcement immediately.

To hear the progress of the manhunt, you can listen to our scanner channel at http://www.nrvradio.com/content/blogsection/9/46/

UPDATE 8:00 AM: It has been reported that a law enforcement officer has been shot along the Huckleberry Trail. Lifeguard Ten has been called. We will bring details as they are available.

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William Charles Morva

Morva was schedule for trial this Wednesday in Montgomery County Circuit Court. He was facing 11 felony charges including attempted robbery, attempted use of firearm to commit a felony, along with several burglary and attempted grand larceny charges from incidents occurring on July 14, Aug. 12 and Aug. 16 of last year. (The following link takes you to the article NRVToday.com published on the robbery attempt: http://www.nrvtoday.com/content/view/820/56/)

"We have received a lot of leads and are following up on everyone of them," said Lt. Joe Davis of the Blacksburg Police Department in a phone interview at 9 p.m. tonight. "So far nothing has panned out."

The day's unfortunate turn of events unfolded like this: The Blacksburg Police Department responded to Montgomery Regional Hospital for a shooting incident. An investigation revealed that a Montgomery County Deputy Sheriff had transported Morva from the jail to the hospital for follow-up treatment.

It was reported that the suspect had fallen at the jail and was complaining of a sprained wrist and leg. After being checked by the jail's medical staff, it was decided to take Morva to the hospital for further examination. It was also reported that Morva was handcuffed and was in leg irons.

While at the hospital, Morva overpowered the deputy, gaining control of his service pistol and attempted to escape custody. Montgomery Regional Hospital Security Officer Derrick McFarland attempted to assist the deputy and stop the prisoner's escape; shots were fired inside the Emergency Room area, fatally wounding McFarland, 26, who had a wife and children.

The deputy, whose name has yet to be released, was injured and is currently listed in stable condition at the hospital.

Morva than ran out the Emergency Room and to the rear of the hospital toward Hightop Road. Within minutes, area law enforcements officers had the area surrounded. The suspect had shed his orange prison clothes.

"The hospital was "locked down", which means no one can leave or enter the premises," said Scott Hill, CEO for MRH. That lockdown continued throughout the morning. The hospital returned to normal operating status early in the afternoon.

Within an hour, all off-duty officers were called in. Law enforcement departments from several surrounding areas, along with tracking dogs, state police helicopters, and several tactical units had converged in the area.

During the early going, roadblocks were sat up within a several mile radius of the hospital. Heavily armed officers stopped and searched cars, while helicopters hovered above. Officers also started a foot search and used tracking dogs, where a scent was picked up leaving the rear of the hospital.

Since Morva had family in the area, police developed a "Vehicle of Interest". That vehicle was spotted coming out of the New River Valley Mall parking lot at around 5:30 a.m. by a Christiansburg Police Officer.

The vehicle was stopped on North Franklin Street in the parking lot of the Citgo Station. However, Morva was not inside the vehicle. Police questioned the driver, who was seen in handcuffs. It is unknown at this time as to the driver was or what charges, if any, were placed.

As the day progressed, officers expanded their search perimeter and started following up on leads.

Morva is described as a white male, 5'10", brown hair and green eyes. He was last seen early this morning wearing a white t-shirt, dark color shorts. He was also wearing jail-issued orange flip-flops.

"I want to emphasize that anyone who has any information, no matter how small you may think it is, to please call us, added Davis. "We want to capture him as quickly as possible before anyone else may get hurt."

Morva is considered Armed and Dangerous. Anyone that comes in contact with or sights Morva should contact their local police by dialing 911. Anyone who wishes to provide information regarding Morva's whereabouts should contact the Blacksburg Police Department at 540-961-1150.

NRVToday.com will be following this story throughout and will be bringing you updates, as they are made available to us.

Additional information and video footage is also available at WDBJ7