Published December 17th, 2023
Two West Virginia State Troopers were shot Sunday evening. At approximately 10:50 p.m. Sunday, two West Virginia State troopers attempted to serve an arrest warrant on a 60-year-old man wanted for battery at the subject’s residence in Martinsburg. The man refused to allow the troopers to enter his home, and the troopers attempted to convince the man to surrender peacefully. When he refused, troopers entered the residence and the man opened fire on the troopers. In the exchange of gunfire, one trooper was struck four times, the other trooper was struck once, and the male resident was struck an unspecified number of times. Medical personnel rendered aid to both the injured troopers and the resident, but the resident died at the scene from his injuries.
According to West Virginia State Police Major James Mitchell, the injured trooper who was shot four times—once in the chest which was stopped by the ballistic-resistant vest he was wearing, once in the left shoulder, and twice in the leg—suffered “serious injuries”, undergoing several surgeries, resulting in his leg being amputated above the knee. Major Mitchell stated the trooper is “now doing well and pushing forward to complete recovery.” The other Trooper was shot one time in the side; he was treated and released at a local hospital. The incident remains under investigation by the West Viriginia State Police.
