In the late summer evening of August 28, 2012, a routine traffic stop on the edge of Interstate 79 in Clay County, West Virginia, took a tragic and violent turn, ending the life of 42-year-old Corporal Marshall Lee Bailey. A White male and a seventeen-year veteran of the West Virginia State Police, Bailey was a respected figure in his community.
That evening, Corporal Bailey and his partner, Trooper Eric Workman, pulled over a vehicle for reckless driving in a commuter parking lot near the Wallback exit. The troopers determined the driver was intoxicated and proceeded to place him under arrest. After handcuffing and searching the individual, they placed him in the back of their patrol car.
Unbeknownst to the officers, the suspect had a concealed 9mm pistol that was not found during the initial search. From the backseat of the patrol car, the man was able to access the weapon and opened fire on both troopers. After shooting Bailey and Workman, the assailant managed to exit the vehicle and took Corporal Bailey's service weapon.
The suspect then shot a tow truck driver who had been called to impound the vehicle. The wounded tow truck driver was able to escape and call for help. The gunman fled on foot and took cover in a ditch, setting up an ambush for the officers who would respond to the scene. When backup from multiple agencies arrived, the suspect fired on them, wounding a Roane County deputy. The responding officers returned fire, killing the suspect at the scene.
Corporal Bailey died from his wounds at the scene of the incident. Trooper Workman was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries two days later. The suspect, who was killed in the shootout with law enforcement, was the sole person responsible for the deaths of the two troopers. No other arrests were made in connection with the incident.
