Shooting incidents involving law enforcement are rare. The same situations happening in or around Bridgeport have proven to be an even rarer commodity.

 

However, over the course of roughly three weeks, North Central West Virginia was home to a trio of incidents. One situation went through Bridgeport, one was in Nicholas County, while a third was a stone’s throw away on Interstate 79 in Lewis County.

 

The most recent situation in Lewis County nearly had officers involved from Bridgeport, according to interim Bridgeport Police Chief Mark Rogers. On June 16, Matthew Brevosky, 38, of Grindstone, Pennsylvania stopped in the northbound lane of I-79 just past the main Lewis County exit and began to fire.

 

Although Brevosky would eventually be killed, he managed to shoot an Upshur County Sheriff’s Deputy in the process. Had Brevosky not been killed, Bridgeport’s officers were about to become involved.

 

“We had three officers and our (Harrison County Violent Crimes and Drug) Task Force members along with our MHIT (Mountaineer Highway Interdiction Team) officer on the way,” said Rogers.

 

While the Task Force members are anonymous, the others are not. Rogers said Lt. Detective Gary Weaver, Sgt. Brett Stewart, and Detective Jason Carey were headed toward the shootout along with MHIT Officer Aaron Lantz.

 

“In a situation like that, there are a lot of moving parts and when other agencies are in need of assistance we are going to be involved at some level,” said Rogers. “It could be to manage traffic, it could be for additional manpower, but you assist because you receive the same assistance from other agencies.”

 

The officers made it to the scene as reports were received the scene was secure. At that point, Rogers said, the State Police took over and Bridgeport’s assistance was no longer needed.

 

“That’s why you have mutual aid agreements and why officers, like our Task Force officers, have legal binding authority to assist,” said Rogers. “At the same time, we don’t self-deploy. We contacted that area’s 911 to let them know we could assist, and they accepted. They let other law enforcement agencies know we’re on our way, so they have a working knowledge of who is going to be in what is likely a secured area.”

 

In this particular case, Rogers said he believes the shooter was not looking to hurt the public. He said he believes he was there to shoot law enforcement officers.

 

“Given the nature of the scene, I can only surmise he was only targeting law enforcement the entire time. I haven’t heard of any civilians that were targeted in their vehicle,” said Rogers. “Understand, that’s my opinion as I’m not privy to the investigation.”

 

Rogers’ comment about assistance coming Bridgeport’s way if needed is not hyperbole. On May 26, a shoplifting incident at Walmart that went awry saw a trio of individuals open fire on law enforcement. That chase, which ended in Marion County, went right through the heart of Bridgeport.

 

“The (Harrison County) Sheriff’s Department reached out immediately, and we took them up on it,” said Rogers. “You do not ever want to be shorthanded in a situation where the public and your own officers are at risk.”

 

Those two situations surrounded a June 2 incident in Nicholas County. In that case, a deputy was killed along with one of two suspects in the case.

 

“It’s always tough if you hear a law enforcement officer is down, and that was the case in Lewis County. What made that particular tough to hear was that you had the death in Nicholas County a couple of weeks prior of a deputy,” said Rogers. “You have a lot of things going through your head as soon as you hear that and then you have to clear it out and determine how you can assist and protect.”

 

Rogers is hopeful a spurt of incidents such as this proves to be an anomaly. However, he is not so certain.

 

“Those three incidents were all unique and all in a short window of time. That should be unheard of, but when you look at things statistically across the nation with drug problems this area is certainly not immune from, you may see it happening again,” said Rogers. “You get the feeling there is a lack of respect for life you didn’t see 30 or 40 years ago.

 

“It just isn’t normal to think I’m going to kill someone today,” he continued. “There is a certain glamorization of that lifestyle and we’re seeing it play out. I just hope we have a long break from this type of activity.”

 

Editor's Note: Top photo is a screen shot from video taken by a motorist during the I-79 Lewis County shooting, while the MHIT vehicle that responded is shown in the second photo. Chief Mark Rogers is shown below.