A foreman for HG Energy was checking on a leak at a well site in Lincoln County, WV on Monday when he was shot by someone who apparently is an anti-fracker/driller.  The gunman was dressed in camouflage and he had “black stuff rubbed all over his face”.  For those of you not from West Virginia, camouflage is so commonplace that you sometimes see people wearing it in court.  The black would have been to camouflage his face.  He would have just looked like any other hunter.

He was walking along the road leading to the well site as the foreman was leaving.  The foreman stopped to see if the man needed help, as apparently vehicles get stuck in the area often.  When he did, the man held up a tape recorder and then a gun.  The tape recorder was hard to hear, but the foreman said it sounded like “stopping the drilling or no more drilling”.

When the recording stopped, the gunman pointed the gun at the foreman’s head.  The foreman grabbed the gun, the gunman pulled the trigger, and the bullet tore through the foreman’s hand, shattering a bone.  The foreman had left his truck in gear, so he hit the gas and drove off.

Police tracked a scent from the area with dogs for about four miles to a four wheeler track, where the scent was lost.  Police aren’t confident that the scent they tracked was that of the gunman.

Local environmental groups have quickly denounced the attack.