WELLSBURG, W.Va. – Authorities put 10 schools in West Virginia's Northern Panhandle under lockdown Friday after a state trooper was shot while responding to a domestic call at a residence near a school.
Trooper B.R. Henderson was grazed by a bullet about noon while he was assisting a Brooke County Sheriff's deputy, said State Police Sgt. James Merrill. Henderson's condition wasn't immediately available.
A suspect in the shooting escaped into the woods and firefighters were called to the scene to battle a fire at the house.
The search prompted county officials to lock down the nearby Brooke High School and the county's nine other schools.
"As a precaution we put all schools on lockdown, even though some are miles away, just to be safe," said Assistant Superintendent Michael Ferrell.
Classes continued as normal, but all outside activities were canceled and access to the schools was limited to parents, Ferrell said.
Ferrell said students will be kept at the schools until authorities deem it safe.
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