2 gunned down by Sniper in WV

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.

Three Fatally Shot in West Virginia

Friday, August 15, 2003

FOX NEWS

CHARLESTON, W. Va. — In shootings bearing an eerie resemblance to the sniper-style attacks that plagued the Washington, D.C., region last fall, two people were killed in separate incidents Thursday, just four days after a similar killing of another man.

A man and a woman were shot outside Kanawha County (search) convenience stores late Thursday.

Kanawha County authorities said the shootings appeared to be random but that a single shooter could be responsible for the deaths. Police have not identified the weapon or weapons used.

At about 10:20 p.m. Thursday, a woman was shot while pumping gas at a SuperAmerica store in Campbells Creek (search). County dispatchers said witnesses heard a gunshot but saw no one, reported West Virginia's Charleston Gazette.

The woman's body was covered with a sheet as she lay dead next to her red Pontiac Firebird.

The second shooting happened a little more than an hour later — while police were investigating the woman's death — 10 miles away outside a Go-Mart in Cedar Grove (search) on U.S. 60.

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

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

Lt. J.S. Bailes, Kanawha County sheriff's spokesman, had few details about the killings.

But all the victims were killed late at night while at gas stations and all of them reportedly died from single gunshot wounds to the head. Authorities have not confirmed that.

There are apparently striking differences in witness descriptions of the possible suspect's vehicle.

Late Thursday, police across the area were alerted to increase patrols around stores with gas pumps. Police are looking 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.

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

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

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, the Gazette reported. She then came upon the woman’s body, lying on the ground next to her car.

The Charleston Daily Mail reported Friday that the father of the slain woman has identified her as Jeannie Patton of Campbells Creek.

Larry Patton said he learned of his daughter's death from friends who apparently saw her body on a television news report.

WCHS-TV reported that Thursday's male victim has been identified as Okey Meadows Junior.

Kanawha County Chief Deputy Phil Morris voiced concern Friday about the resemblance between the deaths and last year's sniper shootings in the nation's capital region.

Residents were advised Friday not to travel alone to convenience stores and to keep their eyes open, Morris said.

The shootings came less than a year after two snipers randomly shot men and women of all backgrounds and races in Washington and its suburbs. Many of the victims were performing everyday tasks like pumping gas and walking through parking lots at Home Depot and Michael's craft store.

The D.C. sniper shootings left 10 people dead and three others wounded over a three-week span.

Lee Boyd Malvo (search), 18, and his alleged accomplice, 42-year-old John Allen Muhammad (search), are being charged in the case.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Just as long as nobody starts saying that this clown is a "professional ex-military sniper", I'll be happy. I remember when Lee Malvo and that other turd were running around that everyone was thinking it was a "professional ex-military sniper".

All of the snipers I've ever known (all from my military service) would not do something like that. They are professionals in every sense of the word, and they would not shoot random victims. A military sniper will only concentrate on designated targets, and it is with great skill, and patience that they accomplish their "assigned" (key word here folks - assigned) task. However, that being said, it looks like anytime something like this happens it becomes - "Let's blame it on (or associate it with) the military in some way." A 30 yard shot is an amature at work - NOT A PROFESSIONAL!

This person doing these killings is nothing more than a murderer, a criminal coward of the worst sort. He (or she) wants to achieve some noteriety to rival the Beltway murders.

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