Sniper Strikes West Virginia

Charleston Gazette ^ | August 15, 2003 | Paul Wilson

[Dirk McQuickly]

Two people were killed late Thursday in separate shootings outside Kanawha County convenience stores, in what police said could be related random shootings.

The two became the second and third people shot dead outside Kanawha Valley convenience stores within four days, and the third and fourth people murdered in Kanawha County on a bloody Thursday.

Thursday night, a woman was gunned down while pumping gas at a Campbells Creek convenience store about 10:20 p.m., while another person was shot slightly more than an hour later outside a Cedar Grove store. Both were killed.

“They appear to be random shootings,” said Lt. J.S. Bailes, Kanawha County sheriff’s spokesman.

Initial reports were that the Campbells Creek victim had been shot in the head, but that could not be confirmed. Witnesses also said the Cedar Grove victim was shot in the head, though authorities did not confirm that, either.

Sunday night, a South Charleston resident also was shot in the head and killed outside a convenience store. George Carrier Jr. 34, was killed while using a pay telephone outside a Charleston Go-Mart.

Late Thursday, police across the Valley were alerted to increase patrols around stores with gas pumps. Police were alerted to look for a black pickup truck with gold trim seen leaving the Cedar Grove store and a dark-green or blue Chevrolet Corsica from the Campbells Creek shooting.

Witnesses heard a gunshot but saw no one at the Campbells Creek shooting, county dispatchers said.

That incident left a woman lying dead next to her red Pontiac Firebird. She had been pumping gasoline at the Speedway SuperAmerica store, 524 Campbells Creek Drive, when she was shot. The name of the victim — whose body was covered with a sheet on the store’s parking lot late Thursday — was not immediately released.

The second shooting occurred about 10 miles away around 11:30 p.m. at the Go-Mart in Cedar Grove on U.S. 60. Bailes had few details, but said a person outside the store was shot.

That person died and the body was lying covered with a sheet early today, while a maroon pickup truck was parked nearby in the lot.

Campbells Creek resident Rick Clay said his 16-year-old son, Cody Ryan Clay, had tried to resuscitate the Speedway victim. Cody Ryan Clay and his grandmother, Sandy Clay, had heard one shot and ran to the store from their adjacent residence, his father said.

Rand resident Arietta King said she saw a blue Chevrolet Corsica go speeding past her on Campbells Creek Drive, about a half-mile from the store. She then came upon the woman’s body, lying on the ground next to her car.

Kanawha County sheriff’s deputies were questioning store employees and customers late Thursday and would not release any information.

That’s what brought Georges Creek resident Tina Adkins to the Campbells Creek homicide scene.

Her sister, Wendy Tuell of Rand, had been leaving the store when she heard what she had described to her husband in a short phone conversation as a firecracker. She did not believe her sister had witnessed the shooting.

She spotted her on the parking lot in a red shirt. “Thank God she’s alright,” Adkins said.

The two victims’ deaths became the fifteenth murders in Kanawha County this year. Charleston has had 10 of those homicides, including a man and woman found shot to death early Thursday in a car parked on the city’s West Side.

Staff writer Tom Searls contributed to this report.

[Dirk McQuickly]

While our eyes are turned toward New York...

[Consort]

Get Chief Moose on the case.

[Armedanddangerous]

This worries the hell out of me. I have to work in that area, and my parents travel over there to the movies at least once a week. I have CCW, and carry a Glock 26, but if something happens, who the hell do I shoot at?

[DCBryan1]

I have CCW, and carry a Glock 26, but if something happens, who the hell do I shoot at?

To be safe, I would start with black muslims.

[dead]

Inspector Mousseau.

[mountaineer]

Earlier thread (different news source).

[heleny]

To be safe, I would start with black muslims.

You must be joking. If this is like last year's DC murders, the perpetrators will probably be too far away to do anything to them, and it's hard to tell a Black Muslim from a Black non-Muslim.

I hope this police chief is more capable (and less racist) than Moose was, and that they catch the murderer soon.

[zchip]

I'm sure that soon we will see the main-stream media trot out reports by the profilers to assure us that the perpetrator of these apparently random sniper attacks is indeed an "angry-white-male." Most likely a member of the Vast-Right-Wing-Conspiracy, Militia, KKK, Republican Party, etc.

[genefromjersey]

Not to worry !

They've already got an APB out on an angry white male, probably driving a white van.Police officers have been warned: Under no circumstances should Black Muslims carrying rifles be interfered with !

[bmwcyle]

White Men in Black Face at it again.

[Frank_Discussion]

(anybody got a moose-noose?)

[joesnuffy]

As the AW Ban sunset approaches I would not be surprised to see more of these kinds of events unfold...

[joesnuffy]

As the AW Ban sunset approaches I would not be surprised to see more of these kinds of events unfold...

[Blood of Tyrants]

First, keep your eyes open for anyone slowing down in a strange place. Second, don't stand there waiting for the tank to fill. Just put in a credit or debit card, start the flow and go inside the store.

But finally, go to the out of the way Mom and Pop stores way out in the country during the daytime.

[BudgieRamone]

Beat me to it. And they will be done with currently available "scary weapons" just my guess.

[HenryLeeII]

Golly gee, you're making assumptions. Just because they fly airplanes into our buildings, shoot at us from the trunks of cars, and vow to kill all of us, you go and make a foolish assumption like this. You need some sensitivity training, because we all know that only white male right wing Christians would do something like this...

[DCBryan1]

Golly gee, you're making assumptions. Just because they fly airplanes into our buildings, shoot at us from the trunks of cars, and vow to kill all of us, you go and make a foolish assumption like this. You need some sensitivity training, because we all know that only white male right wing Christians would do something like this...

I object to your insinuations. You left out something!
They throw hand grenades at our airborne officers that plan on liberating 30 million people from tyranny. (all to please the bloodthirsty, ignorant Allah of course!)

[punster]

"As the AW Ban sunset approaches I would not be surprised to see more of these kinds of events unfold..."

You can be sure that the fanatics from the Brady Center (aka HCI), the Million Moron March, the Violence Policy Center, Chuckie Schumerde, Diane Schweinstein, Barbara Boxer Shorts, Hillary Rotten Clinton (aka Hitlery, aka the First Madam) and their stooges will be dancing in the blood of the victims.

[meatloaf]

FYI, that PC bullsh*t never made it to West, (most everyone including the old ladies are armed), Virginia. Further just carrying a rifle isn't grounds for suspicion. A lot of folks do that.

[two23]

FOX News has finally posted a FN Alert on this