David Scott Bennett, a 65-year-old White/Caucasian male, was shot on the evening of August 19, 2024, at the Economy Inn at 1620 Winchester Avenue in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Online reports said Bennett was an Inwood resident, and that Berkeley County deputies were called to the motel shortly after 8:00 p.m. for a report of shots fired. When deputies arrived, they found Bennett suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest.
Deputies and other responders immediately attempted lifesaving
measures at the scene before Bennett was taken to Berkeley Medical Center. Despite those efforts, he died at the hospital from his injury. WV MetroNews reported that Bennett died from a single gunshot wound to the chest, and The River 95.3 reported his full name as David Scott Bennett.
The shooting quickly became part of an active Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department investigation. Authorities indicated there was no immediate threat to the public, but they continued to seek information from anyone who might have known what happened at the motel that night. The case was expected to be completed by investigators and then turned over to the Berkeley County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
A man named Michael Allen Taylor, 38, of Martinsburg, was identified in online reporting as a person of interest in connection with Bennett’s death. WV MetroNews described him as a second man connected to the shooting, while The River 95.3 named him directly as the person of interest. Publicly available reports reviewed did not show that Taylor had been arrested in Bennett’s death, and the reports stated that no charges had been filed at the time of the initial investigation.
As of the available online reporting, Bennett’s death remained under investigation, with authorities asking the public to contact the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department with relevant information. No public source reviewed reported a trial, conviction, plea, or sentencing connected to the fatal shooting.
