Officer Hylton was shot and killed after responding to a shoplifting call at a convenience store on Roanoke Street at 0530 hours.
When he pulled into the parking lot, the suspect who was standing out front, immediately went to the patrol car and started attacking Officer Hylton. Officer Hylton was able to make it out of the vehicle, but the suspect knocked him to the ground and gained control of his .40 caliber service weapon.
The suspect started shooting at the store and then shot Officer Hylton several times as he laid on the ground. The man then tried to drive away but was stopped by a responding Montgomery County Sheriff's deputy. The suspect immediately opened fire, wounding the deputy. The deputy, along with two other responding officers, chased the suspect into the nearby woods and exchanged fire with the suspect, killing him.
Officer Hylton was flown to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital where he died a short time later.
The deputy who was wounded, Corporal Eric Sutphin, was shot and killed in the line of duty on August 21, 2006, while participating in a manhunt for a suspect who had shot and killed an unarmed hospital security guard after overpowering a deputy and stealing his service weapon.
Officer Hylton had been with the Christiansburg Police Department for only one year, but had been in law enforcement for 20 years. He had served with the Hillsville Police Department, Radford University Police Department, and Floyd County Sheriff's Office. He was also a member of the Army National Guard, and is survived by his wife, four children, parents, and sister.p