Calhoun Middle High School was placed on a quick lockdown following the reports of a man shooting a gun a short distance from the school location.
On Monday, September 30th, 2024, at approximately 9:40 a.m. Calhoun County Dispatch received a phone call from the address of 7418 South Calhoun Hwy. stating that a man (later identified as Bernard Gay Whipkey) was outside firing a firearm randomly who was intoxicated. Sr. Trooper J.D. Richards was notified along with Calhoun County Deputies C. Stephens and Deputy H. Stephens.
At 9:50 a.m. Trooper Richards along with Deputies C. Stevens and H. Stevens of the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department arrived on scene. Richards observed a male standing in the doorway of a red shed outside of the white double-wide with a pistol style firearm in his right hand. He along with Deputy C. Stevens ordered the male to drop the firearm. In return, The male fired one single round over the right shoulder of both Deputy C. Stevens and Trooper Richards who were standing in close proximity of each other directly in front of the male. The only thing separating these officers from the male was the hood of an SUV parked in the driveway of the residence which the male fired above and over to shoot at these officers.
After several attempts of ordering the male to drop his firearm, he tossed the pistol to his right, away from himself towards the roadway. The Officers with Trooper Richards as primary, approached the male and ordered him to the ground to which the male told the officers to kill him. Sr. Trooper shoved the male over with the barrel of his AR. While on the ground this Trooper observed several other firearms in the shed including another pistol style firearm and a shotgun. The male grabbed the barrel of this Trooper’s AR and would not let go. The Trooper then struck the male with Butt of the AR. The male was then placed into custody without further incident. This Trooper identified the male as
Bernard Gay Whipkey, 70 years of age, was arrested and charged with two (2) counts of Attempted Murder and six (6) counts of Wanton Endangerment with a Firearm. He is being held at the WV Central Regional Jail on a $500,000 bond.
On the same date, Sr. Trooper Richards along with other Troopers SGT. J.P. Drake and TPR. N.T. Warden inspected the inside of the shed where the male was found standing. The Troopers observed no bullet holes in the interior of the shed, but did observe where a chunk of wood out of the front door of the shed was potentially gouged by a bullet. Trooper Richards Trooper spoke with the complainant who stated that the male had been out in the shed in front of the residence for the entire incident in which she called 911 about. Trooper Richards discovered four (4) spent shell casings from inside of the Shed.
Three additional witnesses were in the area where Whipkey had fired the pistol who heard three shots fired at approximately 9:20 a.m. that sounded very close.
From the facts and circumstances, Trooper Richards gathered that on the above listed date and time, Whipkey did fire (3) rounds out of a pistol from within the shed outside of his residence towards the adjacent residence endangering (4) individuals who were present at the time including Mr. Whipkey’s wif. And also, when Law Enforcement arrived, Mr. Whipkey shot directly over the right shoulder of this Trooper and Deputy Stevens attempting to kill these Officers and endangering these officers.
All acts occurred at the residence of 7418 S. Calhoun Hwy, Mount Zion, WV 26151 located within the geographical boundaries of Calhoun County.
