MALDEN, W.Va. — A wanted man is dead after pointing a gun at police officers from a wooded area in eastern Kanawha County Tuesday evening.
According to the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, deputies and Charleston police went to a home in the 1000 block of Snowbird Drive in the Malden area at just before 6:45 p.m. Wednesday to serve a warrant. The man they were looking for ran out of the house and into a wooded area. Deputies said he had a gun.
Officers tried to talk him out of the woods. The man refused to come out and pointed the gun at his head threatening to take his own life.
According to the sheriff’s department, “Officers body camera video shows Officers gave the man numerous commands to drop the weapon, but the male would not and yelled repeatedly for the officers to kill him. The man then pointed the firearm in the direction of the officers. Feeling that their lives were in immediate danger, a Charleston Police Officer discharged his firearm at the suspect, fatally injuring him.”
Officers attempted life-saving measures but the man died at the scene of the shooting.
The name of the man who was killed has not been released. The sheriff’s department said some information is remaining confidential to protect the integrity of the investigation.
The felony warrant for the man’s arrest was issued by a circuit judge.