Angry boyfriend behind last week's carnage in Ceres

Samantha Perry, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
Updated ·2 min read

Dec. 11—GREEN VALLEY — An angry boyfriend looking for his estranged girlfriend was the suspect behind last week's shooting on Ceres Hollow Road, officials told the Daily Telegraph on Monday.

The girlfriend was not at the residence, so he gunned down those who were.

An 11-year-old girl and two adults were shot by Kenneth Smith of Beckley. After firing at those on the scene, Smith turned the gun on himself, according to Sgt. P.H. Shrewsbury, commander of the West Virginia State Police Princeton detachment.

The child and Smith were found deceased at the scene. The two adults, identified as Karey Wimmer and Joseph Wriston, were transported for medical care.

"It was domestic related," Shrewsbury said. "He was trying to find his girlfriend and she wasn't there. When he got there he took revenge on those who were there."

Shrewsbury said the shooter did not have a connection to the victims.

A 9-year-old girl who was also at the residence did escape the carnage by fleeing through a side door.

"He came down from Beckley with intent to kill the whole family," Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Cochran said. "It was targeted."

Shrewsbury said Smith had been at the residence before, and believed his girlfriend had a connection to the home.

"They were at the wrong place at the wrong time," Shrewsbury said.

The incident occurred around 3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 261 New Hope-Ceres Road. Units of the West Virginia State Police Princeton detachment and deputies with the Mercer County Sheriff's Office were quickly at the scene.

Almost immediately, a manhunt for Smith began.

"Initially, we didn't know what we had," Shrewsbury said. "We thought he had run into the woods. We put a perimeter around the place."

Smith was later found deceased inside the home, Shrewsbury said.

"He was dead before we got there," Shrewsbury said.

As of Monday afternoon, Shrewsbury said both adults shot during the incident were in stable condition.

In addition to troopers with the West Virginia State Police Princeton detachment, troopers with the McDowell, Raleigh and Turnpike detachments also assisted on the case, as well as the Bluefield Police Department.

— Contact Samantha Perry at sperry@bdtonline.com.

— Contact Samantha Perry at sperry@bdtonline.com.