WEST UNION, W.Va. — A Doddridge County man is dead after he opened fire on law enforcement. Deputies came to the home near West Union to investigate a complaint of shots fired.
Doddridge County Sheriff Clint Boring said Gary McMillian, 74, of West Union had a history of confrontations with his neighbors which had brought deputies to his home before. When they were called to the home Thursday, there was an outstanding warrant for McMillian for pointing a gun at one of those neighbors.
“There’s been some issues with Mr. McMillian and his neighbors that we’ve been dealing with. At this point we’re unclear what his problems are with the neighbors,”
According to the sheriff, McMillian refused to cooperate when Deputies attempted to arrest him for the warrant.
“He was armed, drew his pistol and open fired on the deputies. The deputies returned gunfire and he was killed as a result of that gunfire,” Boring told MetroNews.
McMillian’s wife Pam McMillian, 70, was behind her husband in the kitchen area of their home and was hit by two of the bullets fired in the exchange. Investigators believe she was an innocent bystander and was not involved in the incident. She remained hospitalized at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown Friday.
The sheriff said initially, McMillian fired a dozen rounds from his 9mm pistol. The first volley forced the two deputies on the scene to retreat to cover behind their cruisers. McMillian reloaded and fired 12 more rounds before he retrieved an AR-15 rifle from the home. The sheriff said McMillian fired three shots from the rifle, repositioned and fired two more rounds before he was killed.
“We believe Mr. McMillian fired at least 36 rounds and our deputies returned 15 rounds.” Boring said.
Two more Doddridge County deputies, a State Trooper, and a Natural Resources Police Officer also arrived at the residence to back up the first deputies on scene when the shooting started. According to Boring, the gun battle lasted about 10 minutes. None of the law enforcement officers involved was hurt, but the deputies are off duty as the investigation continues.
“Sometimes it’s tough going out here and doing these things, but thankfully everyone went home safely,” said Boring.