Christopher Allen Smith, 52, is dead after a tense encounter with deputies on Driftwood Lane in Washington County Tuesday evening. What began as an attempt to serve a court-issued Emergency Custody Order ended in gunfire, flashing patrol lights, and a life cut short in front of a quiet neighborhood.
According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, deputies arrived at the residence on February 17, 2026, to take Smith into custody under the authority of a judge’s order. The paperwork allowed law enforcement to detain him for evaluation. But the situation shifted quickly once deputies made contact.
Authorities say an altercation broke out between Smith and the responding deputies. During that confrontation, officials report that Smith produced a knife and allegedly threatened those on scene. Deputies then discharged their weapons.
The gunfire echoed through Driftwood Lane. Deputies immediately moved in and began providing medical aid to Smith while waiting for emergency medical crews to arrive. Despite those efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
No deputies were injured during the encounter. Law enforcement officials have not released further details about the moments leading up to the shooting, but they confirmed the incident is being treated as an officer-involved shooting.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Roanoke is set to perform an autopsy on Thursday, February 19. That examination will determine the official cause and manner of Smith’s death, bringing clinical clarity to a night that left a community shaken.
The case is now under investigation by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police, and the Washington County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. Officials say more information will be made public as the review moves forward. For now, a family is grieving, deputies are under scrutiny, and a quiet stretch of Washington County is left wrestling with the weight of what unfolded there.i to
