9/14/2017 UPDATE - Gary Joe McCourt Jr., 50, is dead in Braxton County following an officer-involved shooting after two days of confrontations between police and a still unidentified suspect.
The shooting happened at a residence on Upper Sleith Road in Rosedale, an unincorporated community in parts of Braxton and Gilmer Counties.
The confrontations with police began Wednesday night. Officers responded to a shooting at a residence in a rural area of Braxton County. They were warned a man, believed to be McCourt, was armed with a high powered rifle and possibly a pistol.
Officers cleared three buildings in the area while attempting to locate him. It's unclear if there were any other injuries in the shooting, but officers discovered bullet holes and damage to one of the buildings where a relative of the alleged shooter and a live-in girlfriend were residing.
On Thursday, State Police from the Elkins Communications informed the Sutton Detachment that a woman had called police claiming "her son is going to kill someone."
Police followed that lead to the residence on Upper Sleith Road â where a stand-off occurred between McCourt and police. The mother again advised police her son had violent intentions, claiming he would "kill any officer that come near him." She also advised police he was on drugs.
At one point, McCourt was outside the residence and advancing on his mother with a large knife. When police drew their weapons, he fled back inside.
McCourt allegedly told police he would "not kill himself" and would force police to do it.
Following additional negotiations to surrender peacefully, officers entered the residence. The suspect, who barricaded himself into a single room, is said to have yelled "you are all going to have to kill me, I guess" before he charged at police with a knife.
Police then opened fire, killing him. The information was confirmed both by the Sutton Detachment of the West Virginia State Police and by Sergeant Mark E. Sanders.
"Obviously, there's an inherent threat in any type of situation like that," Sergeant Sanders said. "The sensitivity comes with the family members and the residents. They are very difficult situations for us to respond to and deal with after the fact."
9/14/2017 UPDATE - West Virginia State Police say a man is dead after he came at officers with a knife after a barricade situation.
WVSP says a call came in early Thursday morning about someone barricaded inside a home in the Sleith arer near Frametown.
Troopers say the man didn't live at the house, but they believe he's from the Braxton County area.
Police received reports of shots fired Wednesday night into or at a residence of a relative to the shooter. Troopers were called back about 4 a.m. Thursday and found a man who was on the porch of a neighbor's house armed with a knife. Police said he retreated into the house, which was vacant, and barricaded himself into a bedroom.
Troopers say the man was in the bedroom of the home and negotiators were in the living room.
The man came out of the bedroom around 7:30 a.m. with a knife and came at officers. That's when he was shot and killed. At least three troopers were in the residence.
According to WVSP, the man's name has not been released and troopers aren't releasing why the man barricaded himself.
No members of law enforcement were injured in the incident.
9/14/2017 -West Virginia State Police say a trooper was involved Thursday morning in a fatal shooting in Braxton County.
The incident happened about 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Thursday in the Rosedale area, or the Upper Sleith area.
West Virginia State Police say a person is dead after an officer-involved shooting.
According to WVSP, the troopers involved in the shooting are not hurt.
The Braxton County Sheriff's Department and Gassaway Police Department assisted in the incident.
Investigators are on scene.
The incorporated town of Rosedale sits on the Braxton-Gilmer County line, and the scene of the shooting was a few miles away.
In another unrelated incident reported on social media, a Burnsville man identified as Christopher Wine was shot and killed with various accounts of what led to his death.
No public information has been released regarding his death by officials.
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