Mountaineer95
Not Inbred
Man stops car in middle of I-79 in WV, shoots deputy and fires more rounds until SWAT takes him down
www.wboy.com
“All of Interstate 79 was shut down at exit 99 near Weston after a man opened fire randomly on the road. Viewer…was able to capture video of the suspect lying in the road, pointing a rifle at law enforcement. In the video, the suspect is in the center of I-79’s northbound lanes using his SUV as cover from law enforcement. At one point, (the driver who took the video) stops and has a brief conversation with the apparent suspect.”
Disclaimer: This is the first thread I’ve started here on DD and I’m sure I’m doing it wrong. Please go easy on me but definitely let me know what I didn’t do that I should have, or vice versa.
Late Thursday morning, an apparently unhinged guy from PA was driving on Interstate 79 (a 70mph zone) when he stopped, parked his vehicle SIDEWAYS across both northbound lanes of travel, exited his vehicle with a pistol and a rifle with a scope, and commenced firing random shots (random at first, before police arrived and he opted to directly aim at them).
Though occurring in Lewis County, two deputies from adjacent Upshur County were closer and arrived first, and the suspect fired at them, shooting the Chief Deputy. The uninjured officer kept aim on the suspect (who was now lying on the interstate asphalt behind his vehicle for cover and aiming the rifle towards them) until backup could arrive, which was difficult since traffic was then at a standstill. Neighboring Harrison County SWAT eventually arrived and quickly found a vantage point from which they could neutralize the suspect (as in shot the m’fer). Finally, EMS was able to take the wounded deputy to the hospital where he underwent surgery for a through-and-through thigh wound that missed bone and major arteries (he is expected to fully recover).
I’ve added a few links of interest. One shows a video taken by a passing motorist heading in the other direction on I-79 before that side was shut down…he thought he came upon an accident when he saw a man lying facedown on the pavement behind an SUV, until he got closer and noticed the man was holding rifle aimed at the police cars facing him. The driver actually exchanged a few words with the shooter as he passed, the link has video of it and it’s nuts. *For clarity, note that the shooter lying behind his vehicle for cover while aiming at the police, and the witness is driving on the other side of the interstate before it was closed.
Link to witness video:
www.wboy.com
This second link has police scanner audio covering the entire event. From the unnerving “shots fired” to the intense “officer down, officer down!” and on to the conversations between deputies already on scene and the en route SWAT team about what vantage point to take that would ensure a successful shot at the suspect, it‘s really interesting. Personal note: I live a 2 hour drive northwest of where this happened, and I was at home that day and didn’t know this was occurring when I turned on my scanner app. It’s mostly local to my town but picks up WV State Police dispatch down where this happened. Turns out that I put on the app at the point after the deputy had been shot but before SWAT arrived. The non-wounded deputy on site was telling dispatch what weapons the guy had and where he was exactly (a rifle with a scope, a pistol, and lying on the pavement using his SUV for cover while firing rounds directly at the officers). Then the deputy was describing the exact layout of the site so as to give the SWAT team the best and safest vantage points. It took SWAT a bit to get there…I think the time lapse from when the injured deputy was shot to when SWAT arrived on scene was a good while, maybe 20+ minutes (all the while he is bleeding, trying to prevent blood loss while also maintaining cover as shots kept coming). But once SWAT they arrived, almost immediately I heard “subject down” over the scanner. They did not waste a single minute. The scanner audio also has some interesting bits from after the subject was killed, such as an officer telling dispatch to contact a certain agency because he and his SWAT teammate were “involved in an officer shooting event”.
Link with scanner audio:
www.wboy.com
Before the first deputies arrived on the scene, it was a bizarre kind of chaos for passing drivers:
”I got on the interstate at the 99 mile marker and got over in the fast lane. All of the sudden traffic came to a complete stop in front of me. The vehicle that was two cars in front of me turned sideways in the fast lane with the front of the vehicle facing the south bound lanes. I assumed there was a wreck...The truck that was in front of me pulled out and went around quickly. I could then see the man (suspect) at the back of his suv. Again I thought he had wrecked and was trying to wave traffic down for help.
He then started running towards my truck putting his hand up to get me to stay there. I looked in his right hand and seen a gun (pistol) and I just knew I had to get my two-year old son out of there. He got to about my headlights and I just floored my truck and got out of there. He then went running to the 18 wheeler behind me and I called 911.”
Link to this and other witness comments:
wvmetronews.com
VIDEO: Suspect aims rifle at officers during I-79 shooting
12 News has acquired viewer-submitted footage of the suspect from Thursday’s shooting in Weston where an Upshur County deputy was injured.
www.wboy.com
“All of Interstate 79 was shut down at exit 99 near Weston after a man opened fire randomly on the road. Viewer…was able to capture video of the suspect lying in the road, pointing a rifle at law enforcement. In the video, the suspect is in the center of I-79’s northbound lanes using his SUV as cover from law enforcement. At one point, (the driver who took the video) stops and has a brief conversation with the apparent suspect.”
Disclaimer: This is the first thread I’ve started here on DD and I’m sure I’m doing it wrong. Please go easy on me but definitely let me know what I didn’t do that I should have, or vice versa.
Late Thursday morning, an apparently unhinged guy from PA was driving on Interstate 79 (a 70mph zone) when he stopped, parked his vehicle SIDEWAYS across both northbound lanes of travel, exited his vehicle with a pistol and a rifle with a scope, and commenced firing random shots (random at first, before police arrived and he opted to directly aim at them).
Though occurring in Lewis County, two deputies from adjacent Upshur County were closer and arrived first, and the suspect fired at them, shooting the Chief Deputy. The uninjured officer kept aim on the suspect (who was now lying on the interstate asphalt behind his vehicle for cover and aiming the rifle towards them) until backup could arrive, which was difficult since traffic was then at a standstill. Neighboring Harrison County SWAT eventually arrived and quickly found a vantage point from which they could neutralize the suspect (as in shot the m’fer). Finally, EMS was able to take the wounded deputy to the hospital where he underwent surgery for a through-and-through thigh wound that missed bone and major arteries (he is expected to fully recover).
I’ve added a few links of interest. One shows a video taken by a passing motorist heading in the other direction on I-79 before that side was shut down…he thought he came upon an accident when he saw a man lying facedown on the pavement behind an SUV, until he got closer and noticed the man was holding rifle aimed at the police cars facing him. The driver actually exchanged a few words with the shooter as he passed, the link has video of it and it’s nuts. *For clarity, note that the shooter lying behind his vehicle for cover while aiming at the police, and the witness is driving on the other side of the interstate before it was closed.
Link to witness video:
VIDEO: Suspect aims rifle at officers during I-79 shooting
12 News has acquired viewer-submitted footage of the suspect from Thursday’s shooting in Weston where an Upshur County deputy was injured.
www.wboy.com
This second link has police scanner audio covering the entire event. From the unnerving “shots fired” to the intense “officer down, officer down!” and on to the conversations between deputies already on scene and the en route SWAT team about what vantage point to take that would ensure a successful shot at the suspect, it‘s really interesting. Personal note: I live a 2 hour drive northwest of where this happened, and I was at home that day and didn’t know this was occurring when I turned on my scanner app. It’s mostly local to my town but picks up WV State Police dispatch down where this happened. Turns out that I put on the app at the point after the deputy had been shot but before SWAT arrived. The non-wounded deputy on site was telling dispatch what weapons the guy had and where he was exactly (a rifle with a scope, a pistol, and lying on the pavement using his SUV for cover while firing rounds directly at the officers). Then the deputy was describing the exact layout of the site so as to give the SWAT team the best and safest vantage points. It took SWAT a bit to get there…I think the time lapse from when the injured deputy was shot to when SWAT arrived on scene was a good while, maybe 20+ minutes (all the while he is bleeding, trying to prevent blood loss while also maintaining cover as shots kept coming). But once SWAT they arrived, almost immediately I heard “subject down” over the scanner. They did not waste a single minute. The scanner audio also has some interesting bits from after the subject was killed, such as an officer telling dispatch to contact a certain agency because he and his SWAT teammate were “involved in an officer shooting event”.
Link with scanner audio:
LISTEN: Scanner audio from Weston I-79 shooting
WESTON, W.Va. – Interstate 79 near Weston was shut down Thursday during an incident where an Upshur County deputy was shot in the leg. The following audio clips, recorded from scanners in tha…
www.wboy.com
Before the first deputies arrived on the scene, it was a bizarre kind of chaos for passing drivers:
”I got on the interstate at the 99 mile marker and got over in the fast lane. All of the sudden traffic came to a complete stop in front of me. The vehicle that was two cars in front of me turned sideways in the fast lane with the front of the vehicle facing the south bound lanes. I assumed there was a wreck...The truck that was in front of me pulled out and went around quickly. I could then see the man (suspect) at the back of his suv. Again I thought he had wrecked and was trying to wave traffic down for help.
He then started running towards my truck putting his hand up to get me to stay there. I looked in his right hand and seen a gun (pistol) and I just knew I had to get my two-year old son out of there. He got to about my headlights and I just floored my truck and got out of there. He then went running to the 18 wheeler behind me and I called 911.”
Link to this and other witness comments:
Witnesses to I-79 Weston shooting share more stories of terror - WV MetroNews
Those who rolled up on the incident on I-79 Thursday morning all thought they were coming up on an accident, none realize until they were caught up in the incident they had pulled into an active shooter situation.
wvmetronews.com
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