JOLO, W.Va. — A McDowell County man shot and killed himself inside his mother-in-law’s house Friday evening a few hours after he shot and killed a man outside a convenience store, state police said.
Steven Blankenship, 45, of Bradshaw, shot James Allen, 41, of Grundy, Va., in the parking lot of the Sunamco convenience store in Jolo at around 1 p.m., according to West Virginia troopers.
Blankenship then drove to his mother-in-law’s house in Bradshaw where he barricaded himself. Police made contact with Blankenship and he spoke with his pastor and wife by phone but a few hours later he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Allen was pronounced dead at a nearby Virginia hospital.
Troopers are still investigating a possible motive.