A West Virginia State Police trooper was killed and another person was injured in a shooting Friday in the southern part of the state, and a suspect has been arrested, state and federal officials said.
State police Sgt. Cory Maynard was fatally shot in the line of duty in Mingo County, Will Thompson, US attorney for West Virginia’s southern district, said.
Few details about the shooting were immediately released. The shooting killed Maynard “and injured another person,” the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office in Louisville, Kentucky – which leads a field division that includes much of West Virginia – said.
The shooting set off a manhunt, and a suspect eventually was arrested, the Louisville ATF office said Friday. ATF agents in West Virginia supported police in the search, the office said.
Details about what led to the shooting, precisely where it happened, the injured person’s condition, the arrest and where the suspect was being held weren’t immediately available.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice ordered that flags at state-owned facilities be flown at half-staff in honor of Maynard.
Justice was “absolutely heartbroken” over Maynard’s death, the governor said as part of a series of tweets.
The governor asked West Virginians to join him and the state’s first lady “in embracing Trooper Maynard’s family, loved ones, and all of our courageous West Virginians in uniform during this incredibly difficult time.”
During authorities’ search for the suspect, the Mingo County emergency management agency warned the public to stay indoors. A Friday night graduation ceremony at Mingo Central High School was postponed out of respect for Maynard.
Source : CNN