West Virginia trooper killed in ambush-style shooting; suspect in custody

MINGO COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ/Gray News) - The suspect in a shooting that killed a West Virginia State Police trooper and injured another person in the Matewan area of Mingo County is expected to be arraigned Saturday morning, according to WSAZ.

The West Virginia trooper was fatally shot Friday afternoon in what appears to be an ambush-type situation in the Beech Creek area, state police and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said.

The governor identified the victim as Sgt. Cory Maynard.

Justice released a statement on Facebook.

“I am absolutely heartbroken tonight to report that Sergeant Cory Maynard of the West Virginia State Police was fatally wounded in an incident this afternoon near Matewan,” Gov. Justice said, in part.

Another person was also shot during the incident in Matewan that was initially dispatched as a shots-fired call around 3:30 p.m.

There is no word on that person’s condition.

West Virginia State Police identified the suspect as 29-year-old Timothy Kennedy. He was taken into custody Friday night.

Investigators said Kennedy was spotted in the Beech Creek area. He was arrested shortly after when state police said he approached a command center they had set up.

“We received word there was a stolen vehicle nearby the area where we last had contact with him,” Lt. Colonel B.L. Mankins with the West Virginia State Police, said. “As fate would have it, the stolen vehicle came toward our command post at a high rate of speed. When he got to the command post, the troopers on scene determined it was the suspect in the shooting earlier today, and he was taken into custody at that point.”

Kennedy was processed at the Williamson Detachment of the West Virginia State Police and taken to the South Western Regional Jail.

Earlier in the evening, officials were trying to land a helicopter to fly the injured trooper out for treatment.

Residents were being told to shelter in their homes as Kennedy was said to be armed and dangerous.

The Mingo County Board of Education said campuses were under lockdown and the high school’s graduation was postponed because of the activity in the area.

A procession left Logan Regional Medical Center to take Maynard’s body to the state medical examiner’s office in Charleston.

Gov. Justice ordered all U.S. and state flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of the trooper.

Copyright 2023 WSAZ via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.