Man Shot Dead After Reckless Driving Confrontation

A West Virginia Driver became involved in a dispute with partygoers after they accused him of speeding, he then opened fire into the crowd but was shot dead by a woman attending the party. 

The incident happened around 10:45 p.m. on Wednesday night (May 25) at an apartment complex on Renaissance Circle in Charleston, West Virginia.

Charleston Police Department says several people confronted Dennis Butler, 37, over accusations that he had driven dangerously through the area while children were playing outside, according to local news channel WSAZ. Butler left the area but then returned shortly afterward with an AR-15 style rifle and started shooting at the group, according to the police report seen by WSAZ.

The woman who was attending the joint graduation and birthday party drew a pistol to return fire and fatally injured Butler, who was shot multiple times, the report said. 

“Instead of running from the threat, she engaged with the threat and saved several lives last night,” said Chief of Detectives Tony Hazelett.

He mentioned that no charges would be filed against the woman, who has yet to be named.

This incident just comes shortly after multiple mass shootings in the past couple of weeks.  Two mass shootings have brought gun control laws back to the forefront. Approximately 10 people were shot and killed at Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York, on May 14, and on Tuesday (May 24), 19 children and two teachers were murdered at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

The total amount of gun violence deaths in the U.S. so far in 2022 is 17,428, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a national database. Of the total amount of deaths, 7,726 were due to murder, homicide, or unintentional or defensive gun use, while the remaining numbers were suicides.