A confrontation tied to a longstanding dispute ended in a fatal shooting at the Ace Home Center in Pennsboro, Ritchie County, West Virginia, on July 9, 2019. The victim was 59-year-old Brian Cronin of St. Marys. The Ritchie County Sheriff’s Department says Cronin confronted 66-year-old Johnny Gregg, an Ace Home Center employee from St. Marys, and gunfire erupted. Cronin was shot while inside his vehicle in the store parking lot and later taken to the West Virginia Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Charleston.

The Ritchie County Sheriff’s Department led the investigation with assistance from the West Virginia State Police and the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Police. Authorities identified the parties involved and reported that Gregg had been taken into custody and was cooperating, but formal charges were still pending and the probe was ongoing. No active threat to the public was reported.

If anyone witnessed the confrontation at the Ace Home Center that day or has information about the longstanding dispute between Cronin and Gregg, please come forward.