A man was fatally shot by State Police Thursday in Braxton County as troopers entered a home in which the man had barricaded himself, according to a news release from the State Police detachment in Sutton.
The shooting put an end to a stand-off between the man and troopers that was the culmination of a series of events that began with a report of a shooting Wednesday night near Frametown and carried over Thursday morning when a woman reported to authorities she thought her son was going to kill someone, State Police Sgt. M.R. Yost said in the release.
The man's name was not released by troopers Thursday, nor was the name of the trooper who fired the fatal shot.
The man died at the scene, and no one else was injured.
Troopers responded to a report of a shooting at a residence near Frametown in southern Braxton County at 9:17 p.m. Wednesday, Yost said. Troopers spoke with the person who called 911, and that person said a man had a high-power rifle, and possibly a pistol, in his possession.
The troopers found three bullet holes in a nearby house, but they were unable to find the suspect at the time of the report, despite searching three buildings in the area, Yost said. There was no indication anyone was injured during that incident, but Yost said the victims were relocated to a safer residence for the night.
A few hours after leaving the scene of the shooting, troopers were notified by State Police dispatchers in Elkins early Thursday morning that a woman called and said her son was going to kill someone. They received a second call from authorities in Elkins, who said the son, who was the suspect in the shooting, was at a neighbor's house on Upper Sleith Road near Rosedale and had attempted to set it on fire, Yost said.
The neighbor reported the man had a knife while he was at his home and had threatened to kill him with it, Yost said.
Troopers responded to the home in Rosedale, which is just north of Frametown, and a witness at the scene said the suspect was in the house.
Yost said the man exited the home carrying a knife and walked toward his mother, who then walked toward the troopers. The troopers drew their weapons, and the man "fled back inside where he barricaded himself for an extended period of time," Yost said.
The man's mother told troopers he was on drugs, Yost said.
The troopers kept in verbal contact with the man, trying to get him to exit the home without the knife, Yost said, but the man kept exiting and entering the house carrying the knife.
"The suspect continued stating he was going to kill all the officers, or they were going to have to kill him," Yost said. "The suspect said he was not going to kill himself, because he would not go to Heaven, but was going to make the officers kill him, so they could go to Hell."
Troopers attempted to negotiate with the man, who repeatedly told the officers he would kill them if he had a gun and "that the officers were going to have to kill him because he's not going back to jail," Yost said.
Troopers were able to enter the house, but the man barricaded himself in one room using a mattress, box spring and multiple items, which troopers found when they removed the door from its hinges, Yost said.
The responding troopers sprayed pepper spray over the barricade in an attempt to subdue the man, but Yost said the man responded by saying "You all are going to have to kill me, I guess," and running at the troopers while carrying a knife, at which time the troopers fired at the man.
It was unclear Thursday how many troopers were on the scene and fired shots during the incident.
The investigation into the incident was ongoing Thursday evening.
Reach Lacie Pierson at lacie.pierson@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @laciepierson on Twitter.