Orange County investigator shot, wounds considered life-threatening

An investigator in the Orange County Sheriff’s Office was shot several times this morning by his wife and is hospitalized at the University of Virginia Medical Center, according to sources close to the family.

Bob Canosa, who formerly worked as the head internal affairs investigator at the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office, was shot around 6 a.m. at his residence in Orange County, according to the sources.

Law enforcement officials have yet to comment on the case, but a press release is expected by early afternoon from the Virginia State Police, which is handling the investigation. Sgt. Les Tyler, spokesman with the State Police, confirmed that the agency was working a shooting but would not release further details.

Canosa’s condition is listed as life-threatening.

According to the sources, who wished to remain anonymous, Canosa was shot by his wife, Brenda Canosa, with a small-caliber rifle. The reason for the shooting is unclear. Brenda Canosa is in
custody in Madison County, according to one of the sources.

Bob and Brenda Canosa, who owned a farm in Madison County, had been separated for several months. Bob Canosa was living in a home on a farm owned by Tim Murphy, chief deputy for the OCSO who runs a canine training service on the property.

Bob Canosa coordinates Orange County’s citizens law enforcement academy and also did the same while he was working in Culpeper County. After retiring from police work in Suffolk, N.Y., he was brought to Culpeper to work on a part-time basis in 2004 by former Sheriff H. Lee Hart. Bob Canosa took the job in Orange in 2007, shortly before the sheriff’s election.

Updated at 2:38 p.m. with information on the officer’s condition.