Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds was released from the hospital Friday morning, three days after being brutally stabbed by his son, who then fatally shot himself.
Deeds, 55, was airlifted to UVA Medical Center on Tuesday morning following an altercation with his son, Austin "Gus" Deeds, 24, in the family's Millboro home. The state senator had been repeatedly stabbed in the face and torso before he was able to escape on foot and seek emergency medical help. When police arrived on the scene, they found Gus Deeds inside the house, dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Gus had undergone a psychiatric evaluation on Monday and an emergency custody order had been issued, but officials said that there were no available hospital beds to accommodate the troubled young man. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has launched an investigation into state mental health services in the wake of the tragedy.
On Friday morning, Sen. Deeds tweeted this heartbreaking message:
I am alive so must live. Some wounds won't heal. Your prayers and your friendship are important to me
Creigh Deeds
@CreighDeeds
I am alive so must live. Some wounds won't heal. Your prayers and your friendship are important to me