Slain Virginia officer was a father of 3, former Marine

This photo provided by the Virginia State Police shows special Agent Michael T. Walter. Walter died Saturday, May 27, 2017 after being shot by a man sitting in a car in a Richmond public housing complex, police said. Travis A. Ball is being held without bond on charges that include malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Additional charges are pending. (Virginia State Police via AP) This photo provided by the Virginia State Police shows special Agent Michael T. Walter. Walter died Saturday, May 27, 2017 after being shot by a man sitting in a car in a Richmond public housing complex, police said. Travis A. Ball is being held without bond on charges that include malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Additional charges are pending. (Virginia State Police via AP)

By Associated Press May 28, 2017 5 min read

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – A Virginia State Police special agent fatally shot by a convicted felon in a Richmond public housing complex was a father of three and former Marine who founded a youth wrestling club and mentored disadvantaged kids, authorities said.

Special Agent Michael T. Walter, 45, died early Saturday after being shot Friday evening by Travis Ball in a neighborhood in Virginia’s capital city that has been plagued by gun violence, police said.

Walter, who was white, was an 18-year veteran of Virginia State Police who previously served in the Marine Corps, State Police Superintendent Col. Steven Flaherty said.

The Philadelphia native was promoted to special agent in 2010 and was working in drug enforcement in the state police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Richmond field office.

Walter is survived by a wife and two sons- ages 14 and 9- and a 6-year-old daughter, Flaherty said. He was well-known in the suburban Richmond community where he lived and started a nonprofit wrestling organization for kids, police said.