Carl Hopkins Jr., 61, was shot and killed on January 25, 2014, during an afternoon visit to a parcel of land near Barboursville, West Virginia. He and his brother Garrick were examining an outbuilding on property Garrick had recently bought when gunfire came from a neighboring house. Both brothers died at the scene.

Neighbor Rodney Bruce Black later told investigators he believed the Hopkins brothers were tampering with what he thought was his tool shed. According to the criminal complaint, Black retrieved a .243-caliber rifle, fired from an upstairs bedroom window about 120 feet away and did not go outside, warn them or contact authorities before shooting. Deputies found no indication the brothers had confronted Black, and the shed was on Garrick’s newly purchased land. No first aid was given after the shooting.

A search of Black’s home turned up a large firearms collection, including a Remington Model 700 .243-caliber rifle investigators identified as the weapon used. Black was arrested, indicted on two counts of first-degree murder and later found incompetent to stand trial; he was committed to a psychiatric hospital. The charges remain pending should competency ever change.

If anyone knew Carl Hopkins Jr. or has information about that day, please share what you know.