RANSON, W.Va. —
Police are looking for “persons of interest” in the fatal shooting of a 27-year-old man and wounding of a 26-year-old woman Wednesday morning at an apartment complex on North Mildred Street in Ranson, W.Va.Dontrell Tyree Curry was found shot in the head at a second-floor apartment at Apple Tree Gardens Apartments shortly after authorities received a report of shots fired at 5 a.m., Ranson Police Chief William “Bill” Roper said.
Rachel Cooke, 26, who was shot in the arm, underwent surgery at Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Ranson and was later interviewed by police, according to Roper.
Curry was found in a rear bedroom of the apartment, which is where Cooke lives, Roper said. Cooke was found shot in the living room, he said.
Two boys, ages 8 and 10, were home with their mother when the shootings occurred, but were unharmed, Roper said.
The police chief declined to specify the position of Curry’s body in the bedroom. An autopsy will be conducted in Charleston, W.Va., at the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, he said.
Roper said he did not know whether Curry and Cooke had a relationship of any kind. The circumstances and motive for the shooting also remain under investigation.
“We don’t have any idea,” Roper said when asked for what may have triggered the shooting in Building 8 of the apartment complex in the 800 block of North Mildred Street.
The West Virginia State Police assisted with the collection of evidence, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office responded with Ranson police after the shooting was apparently reported by a neighbor.
Curry’s death comes little more than five months after he was released from federal prison in November 2011, according to court records and the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
In 2006, Curry pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of unlawful possession and transport of a firearm, a .22-caliber Beretta pistol. He was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison, according to court records.
Since his conviction, court records indicate Curry violated the terms of his supervised release at least three times and was returned to federal prison each time.
Curry’s federal indictment indicated he was addicted to an illegal drug.
Anyone with information about the shooting can contact investigating Ranson police Officer Will Henderson at 304-725-2411.
