UPDATE: Police clarified that the person arrested was an employee of Ride-N-Dirty Car Wash who was a convicted felon in illegal possession of a firearm. The suspect allegedly fired the weapon during the altercation in front of the car wash. A second person also fired a gun but was not arrested.
BECKLEY, W.Va. — A man who apparently attempted to intervene in a road rage incident near downtown Beckley was one of two people wounded by gunfire Thursday.
Police confirmed that two adult males were wounded during the incident in front the Ride-N-Dirty Car Wash on Robert C. Byrd Drive, and that the alleged shooter was in custody. An officer at the scene said the injuries to both victims did not appear to be life-threatening. Authorities did not release the names of the victims or any other information about the shooting.
However, the owner of the business told MetroNews affiliate WJLS-AM that one of the victims was an employee of the car wash who attempted to deescalate an argument between two the men, after they stopped their cars in front of the business, following an alleged vehicular incident that occurred a few blocks away from the scene of the shooting. The owner of the car wash declined to disclose the employee’s identity. Police did not confirm the details provided by the business owner.
Robert C. Byrd Drive was closed to traffic for approximately an hour during the initial investigation.