| By Bob Weaver
The name of a gunman fatally shot by a WV State Police trooper after he threatened officers with a rifle outside of the Wirt County detachment has been released.
Joseph Dennis Harrison, 45, from the Elizabeth area was killed about 5 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
State Police have not released the name of the officer involved in the shooting.
Harrison lived with his family on Deavers Fork, a side road off Munday Road, a short distance off State Rt. 5 near Elizabeth.
State Police say the gunman, kidnapped a UPS driver and told him to drive to the State Police barracks located next to a parking lot of the county's only supermarket.
Sgt. Michael Baylous, public information officer for the agency, said it is not clear why the man came to the barracks and began shooting into the building. The building was empty when the incident happened at about 5 p.m.
Employees told the Herald today they heard several rounds of gunfire, a sound that prompted them to call 911. None of the bullets went inside the building.
The UPS driver, a one-day replacement for well-known UPS driver Johnny Staats, was not injured.
A trooper on patrol responded to the call, according to Baylous, arriving to discover the man with a gun. Baylous called him a veteran officer.
"The suspect displayed his rifle in a threatening manner and fired multiple rounds in the direction of the barracks," Baylous said.
Photos published on the Hur Herald shortly after the incident showed what appeared to be a sheet covered body to the rear of a UPS truck that was parked in front of the barracks.
Shoppers and workers at a nearby Family Dollar and Food Mart were kept inside the building for questioning after the incident.
Following the shooting, reports say State Police asked for additional officers to respond to a house on Deavers Fork, where they were reportedly investigating the scene.
See UPDATED: SHOOTING REPORTED IN FRONT OF STATE POLICE BARRACKS IN ELIZABETH - Hostage Taker Shot By Trooper
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