CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha County Sheriff Mike Rutherford says there was an officer-involved shooting in Charleston Tuesday morning that may be linked to a homicide and carjacking in Charleston..
Rutherford said a Charleston Fire Department ambulance crew and a local resident followed the driver of a car after he had continued drive following a collision near the train depot. Police caught up with the driver near the Go Mart on Pennsylvania Avenue. Rutherford said the man took an antique flat-iron and struck the police officer as many as three times knocking the officer to the ground. The officer then used a baton to no effect, Rutherford said. The man tried to hit the officer again and the officer fired two shots striking the suspect.
Rutherford said police believe the suspect was involved in a homicide on Charleston’s West Side earlier Tuesday followed by a carjacking and the car crash near the train depot.
Charleston police are investigating the earlier crimes and the sheriff’s office is investigate the officer-involved shooting. The homicide under investigation occurred at a residence on Charleston’s West Side near the intersection of West Washington Street and Georgia Street. It’s believed a woman was killed earlier Tuesday.
A Charleston police spokesperson said the officer was going to be okay. There were no immediate word on the suspect’s condition.
Charleston police and the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department have scheduled a 2 p.m. news conference