Updated: Eastern Kentucky officer injured in shooting; suspect detained

Rick Childress
·2 min read
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A police officer in Olive Hill was injured in a shooting Monday afternoon, according to Kentucky State Police.

KSP originally said the officer was shot, but later clarified that the officer was injured from broken glass after his cruiser was shot, KSP said. The officer’s injuries were described as non-life-threatening. In a tweet Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear said the officer is “going to be okay.” State police said Wednesday he was released from the hospital.

The injured officer was Joe Preston, the Ashland Daily Independent reported. On Tuesday morning, a Facebook account that appeared to be Preston’s posted photos of the injuries sustained in the shooting and an Olive Hill police cruiser with shattered glass.

“The good Lord had his blanket of armor around me yesterday,” Preston wrote in the post. “Suspect apparently attempted to murder a random police officer by shooting him in the head with a high powered rifle. Bullet missed my head by about six inches.”

The incident was reported at 3:15 p.m. and happened on Scott Street in the Carter County town, WSAZ reported. The suspect’s vehicle was located at about 8 p.m. in Lewis County. He was eventually arrested without further incident after a “lengthy standoff,” KSP said.

Wesley Cornell, a 30-year-old Lewis County man, was booked in the Carter County jail early Tuesday and charged with attempted murder of a police officer, court records show. Cornell’s bond was listed at $1 million.

The shot came from a wooded area and the suspect was not seen, WSAZ reported. The officer was not responding to a call when he was injured.

Those in downtown Olive Hill and people in areas around Mill Street, Tom T. Hall Blvd. and Route 2 were told by police to shelter in place during the search for the suspect.

The injured officer was flown to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Huntington, West Virginia, Trooper Shane Goodall, the public information officer at KSP Post 14 in Ashland said.

“Following reports out of Olive Hill, I am asking Kentuckians to join Britainy and me in praying for one of their police officers, who was shot this afternoon and is receiving care,” Beshear tweeted Monday evening. “We are here for this family and entire law enforcement community during this difficult time.”

This is a developing story and may be updated.