Man fatally shoots 11-year-old girl and wounds 2 others before shooting self, police say

PRINCETON, W.Va. (AP) — A man fatally shot an 11-year-old girl and wounded two other people at a home in southern West Virginia before turning the gun on himself, state police said.

Officers responded Wednesday to reports of a male holding multiple people at gunpoint in a home in Mercer County, police said in a statement.

Troopers arrived to find a male and female suffering from gunshot wounds to the head and body, and inside the residence found an 11-year-old girl and a man both deceased from gunshot wounds, the statement said.

Further investigation found that the deceased man, identified as Kenneth Smith, was the shooter and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The wounded were hospitalized in critical condition. Their identities and that of the girl weren’t immediately released.