Gunman opens fire on federal building in West Virginia: report

Wed Oct 9, 2013 5:42pm EDT

(Reuters) - A gunman opened fire on the Federal Building in Wheeling, West Virginia, on Wednesday, and the shooter has since died, police and news reports said.

The gunman fired more than 20 shots into the building in downtown Wheeling, the Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register website said.

Sergeant M.T. Baylous, a spokesman for the West Virginia State Police, confirmed there had been a gunman at the Federal Building.

"He is now deceased. The investigation is ongoing," he said, adding that there had been no other life-threatening injuries.

Baylous gave no details on how the man died.

The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register website said a security guard was slightly injured.

The website quoted a witness as saying the man fired at the Federal Building with an assault rifle before reloading and firing at a nearby YWCA building. There was no word on a motive for the shooting.

WV MetroNews cited U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia William Ihlenfeld as saying the shooter was a former Wheeling police officer, although that could not be independently confirmed.