A deputy U.S. Marshal killed Wednesday while trying to serve a warrant in West Virginia has been identified as Derek Hotsinpiller, 24, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. He had been a deputy Marshal for just over a year.
Two other deputy Marshals were shot, but suffered non-life threatening wounds, according to the Charleston Gazette. The gunman was shot and killed.
The Marshals, along with West Virginia State police, had gone to the house of Charles E. Smith, 50, in Elkins, W. Va. to serve an arrest warrant for Smith who was wanted on drug charges. After the deputy Marshals entered the home, Smith opened fire with a shotgun. Hotsinpiller was shot in the neck, authorities said.
The Officer Down Memorial Page reported that the slain Marshal was the son of a former police officer. His brother is also a police officer in West Virginia.
