A suspect in the wounding of a West Virginia state trooper during a traffic stop Monday was fatally shot hours later after he refused police commands to drop a weapon, a state police spokesman said.
Scott A. O’Brien of Hamilton, Ohio, was pronounced dead at the scene in the Raleigh County community of Coal City, state police Capt. Robert Maddy said in a news release.
O’Brien was spotted running from a wooded area at 7 p.m. Monday. Troopers confirmed he was armed and shot him when he refused commands to drop the weapon, the statement said.
WEST VIRGINIA STATE TROOPER SHOT DURING TRAFFIC STOP; SUSPECT AT LARGE
On Monday morning, a state trooper stopped a vehicle O’Brien was driving at a store near Interstate 77 in the Raleigh County community of Midway. O’Brien then fired a gun and struck the officer in the elbow before fleeing. Authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the officer’s condition.
The investigation remains ongoing, the statement said.
