Police: West Virginia Officers Kill Fugitive Who Pulled Gun at Funeral in Nutter Fort

August 25, 2022

News Release | AP

Regional News

NUTTER FORT, WV - A man being sought by U.S. Marshals and other law enforcement agencies was fatally shot at a northern West Virginia funeral service for his father Wednesday after he pulled a gun on officers attempting to apprehend him, authorities said.

The shooting occurred in the Harrison community of Nutter Fort, local news outlets reported.

Harrison County Sheriff Robert Matheny said officers had a warrant for the man’s arrest.

The man, whose name authorities did not release, was spotted leaving the funeral home as a pallbearer. After letting him help take the casket to a hearse, officers tried to arrest him. The man then pulled a gun and was shot, Clarksburg Police Chief Randy Hartley told The Exponent Telegram.

WBOY-TV reported that Evelyn O’Dell identified him as Jason Owens, the son of Junior Arnie Owens, whose funeral was held Wednesday. O’Dell is Junior Owens’ sister.

When the casket was placed in the hearse, officers were heard shouting the fugitive’s name, she said.

“He just took his dad out and put him in the car, carried the casket out, and he came over and I was hugging him, and next thing I know, somebody yelled ‘Jason!’ and then, you know, ‘boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,’” O’Dell told WBOY. “He didn’t have a chance to do nothing.”

“I’m distraught. I’m just totally upset,” O’Dell said. “I was getting ready to go lay my brother down in the ground and they shot his son. It’s a mess.”

State police are investigating the shooting.