Police1 Critical Alert Network
Investigators in West Virginia sniper shootings have released a composite sketch of a heavyset, goateed man who was reportedly seen behind the wheel of a dark pickup truck in the vicinity of the area where 2 of the victims were shot. Authorities have received more than 600 leads but appealed for even more in their quest to find the shooter or shooters responsible for the recent killings of three people outside area convenience stores.
Investigators also want to talk with a tall, thin person “with what were described as hairy, white legs” who might have information regarding one of the August 14 shootings, according to Ken McCabe, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, division, which includes West Virginia.
So far, authorities have suggested no motive, and it is not clear whether the killings were random. McCabe gave little weight to suggestions by the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department that the killings might be connected to the drug trade. Police are assuming the shooter or shooters are in West Virginia. “We have a lot of valleys, a lot of mountains, a lot of ridges,” he said. “Somebody could hide here. But we have to operate on the theory that he is still in the area.”
Police also are investigating a shooting at a convenience store near Charleston late Wednesday that resembled the three fatal attacks in the area. A teenage girl reported a shot fired at a Go-Mart in Dunbar, west of Charleston, at about 11:40 p.m. Wednesday, according to Dunbar police Capt. Randy Gillespie.
She also said she saw a maroon, full-sized pickup approach the convenience store before she heard the shot. No one was injured. Investigators say there is little to connect the fourth incident with the previous shootings, and they have found no sign that any building or vehicle was hit by the reported gunshot. The FBI is asking agencies to contact 866-989-2824 or 304-357-0169 with any information.
Source: FBI