HARDY COUNTY, W.Va. — Investigators in Hardy County are attempting to reassure residents about their safety after a deadly shooting earlier this week.
Chief Deputy Jon Baniak with the Hardy County Sheriff’s Department said the murder victim and the suspects, who are behind bars, were not strangers.
The three “knew each other well,” Baniak said. “We believe from what we have gathered that all three were friends.”
On Monday around 7 a.m., emergency responders were called to a scene along Sperrys Run Road following reports of shots fired. When they arrived, Dustin Hinkle, 22, was found dead.
Immediately charged with his murder was Robert Greenfield, 22, of Rig.
Christopher Mason, 23, of Petersburg, was also arrested at the scene and charged with wanton endangerment.
Greenfield and Mason were being held in the Potomac Highlands Regional Jail.
“We have concluded, at this point, that the only ones that were firing weapons were the three individuals that were at the residence,” Baniak said.
No possible motive was being discussed publicly as of Wednesday.
“Anytime you have a shooting that involves a fatality, it’s always devastating to the community. There’s always a certain fear that comes out of that,” Baniak said.
“We just want to assure the public that, at this point, there are no additional threats out there that anybody has to worry about.”
State Police troopers and deputies with the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Department assisted the Hardy County Sheriff’s Department at the murder scene.