Lee Vogler, 38-year-old a member of the Danville City Council in Virginia, was in his office Wednesday when a man allegedly ran in and doused him with flammable liquid. He tried to escape and made it outside before he was set on fire.
According to the Danville Police Department, 29-year-old Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes had been taken into custody for the crime as of 4 p.m. Wednesday. He was charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding following the attack and was being held at Danville City Jail under no bond.
“This incident remains under investigation,” said the department. “No further information will be released at this time.”
In an earlier press release, authorities said that officers were dispatched to the 700 block of Main Street in Danville at around 11:30 a.m. Witnesses at the scene said that the suspect entered Vogler’s place of employment – the offices for Showcase Magazine – to attack Vogler and then ran off after setting him on fire. Using a description of the vehicle the suspect allegedly fled in, police soon stopped it and took Buck Hays into custody without incident.
In a video posted to Facebook, Showcase Magazine publisher Andrew Scott Brooks also described the incident, calling the victim a “colleague” and “friend” in the caption. Per Vogler’s Danville city biography, he is the managing partner of Andrew Scott Brooks Media Group.
“This type of senseless act of violence has to stop,” said Brooks. “You do not have the right as a human being to get upset with someone enough to lash out and attempt to harm them in any way, much less this way.”
Authorities said the Danville Fire Department and the Danville Life Saving Crew also responded to the scene to render aid to Vogler. They also said he was airlifted to a regional medical facility for treatment and that full extent of his injuries were not known as of Wednesday afternoon.
“Lee is awake and talking and on route to the burn center in Lynchburg,” Brooks revealed in his video. “Our hearts and prayers are with him.
Everyone here at Showcase – we don’t even really know what to say.”
Vogler is a native of Danville who graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He became the youngest member of the Danville City Council when he was first elected in 2012 at age 24. His current term began this January and ends in December 2029.
“Mr. Vogler is involved in several community activities including serving as Chairman of the Danville-Pittsylvania County Regional Industrial Facility Authority (RIFA), as well as serving on the Staunton River RIFA, the Danville-Pittsylvania Metropolitan Planning Organization, and the West Piedmont Planning District Commission. He has served several years on the Executive Committee for the Harry Johnson Holiday Classic,” according to his biography. He is also a past president and current member of the Danville Kiwanis Club.
Vogler’s reputation in politics has also extended beyond Danville. His bio said that he was recognized by the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association as Virginia Local Legislator of the Year in 2017 and that he was appointed by Governor Glenn Youngkin to the Virginia Small Business Commission in 2022.
“Based on the investigation at the time of this release, the victim and the suspect are known to each other and the attack stems from a personal matter not related to the victim’s position on Danville City Council or any other political affiliation,” said police.