Dawlton Dale Blankenship, a 24-year-old White male from Bluefield, West Virginia, was fatally wounded in a shooting that erupted in the parking lot of Brushfork Elementary School on the evening of June 26, 2026. West Virginia State Police were dispatched at approximately 8:56 p.m. after Mercer County 911 received reports of gunfire. Although the original dispatch information pointed to a nearby Charcoal Street address, investigators determined that the shooting had taken place at the school on Brushfork School Road. By the time troopers reached the parking lot, the people involved had left, but witnesses in the area reported hearing multiple gunshots followed by vehicles speeding away. Investigators found what appeared to be blood at the scene. Blankenship had been struck in the head and was taken for emergency treatment before being transferred to Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Virginia.
More detailed subsequent reporting, as well as his obituary, establishes that he died on June 28, 2026; hospital officials reportedly confirmed his death at 8:24 a.m. after doctors determined that his injuries were not survivable. This differs from some initial reporting that described his death as occurring only several hours after the June 26 shooting.
The confrontation was not described by investigators as a random attack. According to accounts of the criminal complaint, Blankenship was traveling with three other people, including his brother, after threatening messages had allegedly been exchanged and arrangements were made for the two groups to meet at the elementary school parking lot for a fight. Police identified the opposing group as Terrence Shade Thomas, Terrence Charles Thomas and Bradley Scott Billings, all from the Bluefield area. Blankenship’s companions told investigators that when their vehicle arrived, they saw Shade Thomas in the parking lot holding a handgun. They said they attempted to leave rather than remain there, but several shots were fired toward their vehicle as they drove away. Troopers later examined the truck at the emergency department and documented three bullet holes in its front passenger side. Blankenship, who was riding in the vehicle, suffered the catastrophic gunshot wound to his head.
Investigators quickly began locating the three men identified in connection with the confrontation. Troopers initially went to a residence connected with Terrence Charles Thomas and did not find anyone there, but investigators reportedly seized a cellphone outside and towed a white Ford F-350 after observing what appeared to be blood on the vehicle. Terrence Shade Thomas was subsequently located at a residence on Mountain View Drive in Princeton and taken into custody without incident. Terrence Charles Thomas also arrived at that residence and was arrested. Bradley Scott Billings was not located during the earliest searches, but subsequent State Police reporting confirmed that he too was arrested, leaving all three men facing charges connected to the encounter.
According to the criminal complaint, Shade Thomas acknowledged that he, his father, Terrence Charles Thomas, and Billings had gone to Brushfork Elementary School intending to fight Blankenship’s group. His account of what happened after the groups met differed from that given by Blankenship’s companions. Thomas claimed members of Blankenship’s group produced brass knuckles and hammers, causing him to retrieve a pistol from his truck. He further claimed that the other group then got back into its vehicle and attempted to run over his father. Thomas said that was when he fired multiple rounds at the vehicle. Reporting based on the complaint states that he admitted one of those shots struck Blankenship in the head. After the shooting, Thomas allegedly gave the firearm to his father. Terrence Charles Thomas later led troopers to a black Taurus 9mm handgun that investigators recovered along Dawson School Road in the Bluefield area. These statements represented the defendants’ version of events and allegations documented by investigators, not findings reached by a jury.
The charges reported immediately after Blankenship’s death changed or were described differently as the investigation progressed. Early reporting based on the warrant said Terrence Shade Thomas was charged with second-degree murder, conspiracy and three counts of attempted murder, with Terrence Charles Thomas also facing a murder-related charge and conspiracy and Billings charged with conspiracy. Later State Police-based reports listed Terrence Shade Thomas as charged with first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and conspiracy; Terrence Charles Thomas was reported as charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy; and Bradley Scott Billings was charged with conspiracy. The progression in the reporting appears to reflect charging developments after Blankenship’s death rather than a determination of guilt.
Terrence Shade Thomas appeared in magistrate court by June 30 and pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, attempted murder and felony conspiracy. He remained the person police accused of firing the shots that killed Blankenship, while maintaining that he fired because he believed the vehicle was being used against his father. Terrence Charles Thomas was scheduled for his own magistrate proceeding the following week. Bradley Scott Billings waived his preliminary hearing in the West Virginia case and was sent to Tazewell County, Virginia, where he was also expected to answer unrelated shoplifting charges. Earlier State Police reporting had indicated that the three defendants were being held at the Southern Regional Jail following their arrests.
The case therefore moved quickly from a planned physical confrontation to a homicide investigation involving three arrests, a recovered firearm and allegations that the defendants had helped arrange the meeting where the shooting occurred. Terrence Shade Thomas was accused of being the gunman, his father was accused of participating in the confrontation and conspiracy surrounding it, and Billings was accused of conspiring with them. As of August 15, 2026, the available online reporting reviewed for the case showed arrests, criminal charges and Thomas’s not-guilty plea, but no reported trial verdict or conviction in Blankenship’s killing. The most detailed accounts continued to describe the investigation and charges as pending allegations, with the defendants presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
