A man was shot dead by police in West Virginia after allegedly murdering his stepfather, kidnapping a woman, and taking several people hostage at a gas station. David Maynard died following a 90-minute hostage negotiation with law enforcement officers from the West Virginia State Police Special Response Team, who successfully rescued three people from the gas station in Ceredo.
Maynard is suspected of killing his stepfather in Ironton, Ohio. Police responded to a call on September 8 that neighbors heard screaming and the sound of gunshots coming from a local house. Upon arrival, officers found a 78-year-old man dead and a woman restrained but unharmed. Ironton police chief Don Johnson said, “A 39-year old female was tied up using cords and officers cut her loose, then proceeded to clear the rest of the house, and they found a 78-year-old male deceased.”
A search for Maynard began, and on September 9, he was sighted in Lawrence County, Kentucky, where Sheriffs confirmed he was suspected of abducting a woman from a Dollar Store in Louisa and stealing her car. That evening, he was seen again in Kenova, West Virginia – police considered him armed and dangerous and told residents to remain home until he was apprehended.
Later on the evening of September 9, Maynard entered a Speedway in Wayne County, West Virginia, where a police officer saw and recognized him. The suspect pulled a gun on the officer, who managed to call for help but was held at gunpoint, along with two Speedway employees, for more than 90 minutes. Maynard released two of the hostages, and the third was rescued.
The standoff ended when the suspect left the gas station and aimed his firearm at law enforcement officers, who then shot him. He died in hospital. West Virginia State Police Captain RA Maddy said the incident was resolved, and none of the hostages, or the woman abducted in Kentucky, had been harmed.
