By Cody Neff
The Register-Herald
MOUNT HOPE, W.Va. — After 33-year-old Mark Toney allegedly pointed a shotgun at a group of police officers, they opened fire on him and killed him at his home in Mount Hope.
Toney’s death could be the first officer-involved shooting in Mount Hope history. Digging through newspaper archives and searching the Internet gives no results that indicate otherwise.
The names of the officers involved with the shooting are not being released because the State Patrol’s investigation into the shooting is still ongoing, officials said.
Mount Hope’s Police Chief says the officers are shook-up, but they’re going to be fine.
“When you have to take someone’s life, it’s never easy,” Chief Mark Larkin said. “There’s a human side to the police and people don’t see that. We’ve got counseling set up for the officers.
“That counseling typically takes place after a few days so the officers have time to calm down and clear their heads.”
Some police departments put officers on desk duty until they have been deemed “fit to return to work,” but Mount Hope has put their officers on leave.
“There’s no definite length to how long they’ll be gone,” Chief Larkin said. “Some guys are eager to return to work and others need more time to clear their minds and heal. We’re going to give them the time that they need.”
Chief Larkin said this is painful for everyone involved, but it was necessary to save three lives.
Before police arrived on the scene, Toney allegedly had cut one person’s throat and stabbed another person. Police ordered him to drop his gun but he responded by pointing it at police, officials said. Police opened fire, killing Toney.
“One man had his throat cut from ear-to-ear,” he said. “The woman was brutally beaten and stabbed twice. Plus, there was a three-year-old child involved with all of this who was allegedly attacked as well.
“It’s hard to say what would have happened had the officers not done what they did.”
For the officers of Mount Hope, this is a learning experience for everyone since it could be the first officer-involved-shooting in town history.
“Their faith in God is going to get them through this,” Chief Larkin said. “The officers they work with, along with their family, will also help them stay strong during this difficult time for everyone.”
With all the commotion, including gunshots and police sirens, not everyone in the neighborhood knew what was going on.
“I must have slept through it because I didn’t hear a thing,” neighbor Jean Steelman said.
Another neighbor said he was playing video games, but the volume was up pretty loud.
“I heard something that sounded like a bunch of firecrackers going off,” James Calloway Jr. said. “I thought, ‘Who would be setting of firecrackers at night in the middle of December?’
“Sometimes I hear gunshots in the neighborhood, but I don’t pay any attention to it. I just turn up the volume,” Calloway said. “This time, a neighbor texted me and asked me what was going on so I went out and saw all the (police cars) at the neighbor’s house.”
Calloway said he did not know Toney very well, but he often saw his girlfriend and son walking to the store together.
“The girl and her son seemed like fine people,” Calloway said. “We didn’t talk much though.”
A call to the girlfriend seeking comment was not returned.
State Police are working on an internal investigation to see if there was any wrong-doing on anyone’s part. The number of shots fired is not being released at this time. An autopsy is being performed.
Toney’s Facebook profile paints a picture of a man who was in-between jobs and loved video games.
His profile said he was looking for odd-jobs in the days leading up to the shooting.
His Facebook wall is filled with achievements from various video games. Toney seemed to prefer superhero games such as DC Universe Online and Batman: Arkham City.
A background report on Toney listed no criminal history and aside from a few run-ins with Child Protective Services, he had a clean record.
Police say Toney was completely unknown to them.
Copyright 2015 The Register-Herald