By Associated Press - Tuesday, September 24, 2019

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) - Police in West Virginia say they killed a man who used a woman as a human shield and shot at officers during a wild standoff.

Huntington Police Chief Hank Dial says officers shot 41-year-old Jarod Lee Smith early Tuesday.

He says officers were responding to an armed robbery report when they saw Smith holding a woman at gunpoint near a gas station. When officers told him to drop the weapon, according to Dial, Smith pulled out a second gun and started shooting at them.



Dial says Smith then took the woman as a human shield as he attempted to get into the gas station’s store and then steal a car. When that failed, Smith fired multiple rounds into a police cruiser before officers shot him.

No one else was hurt.

Copyright © 2026 The Washington Times, LLC.

Story Topics

Please read our comment policy before commenting.