News
Man in Custody, Stepson Wounded in Meigs County Shooting
By: WOUB Contributing Writer
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A man is in custody and his stepson is in critical condition after a shooting in Meigs County Wednesday morning.
The victim’s mother and suspect’s wife, Carol Burns, said the shooting happened after an argument that began Tuesday and continued Wednesday morning.
The shooting was reported about 9:30 a.m. at a house on Briar Ridge Road in the Langsville area of Meigs County. Burns said her son, William “Eddie” Cleveland, 49, came into the house from the camper behind the home where he lives and began to argue with his stepfather, Robert Burns, 69.
"My husband hit him [Cleveland] with the gun in the head, I figure to knock him out,” Carol Burns said. “Then he [Cleveland] knocked him [Burns] back into the corner and when he come up, Eddie [Cleveland] was still fighting him and he [Burns] shot."
Meigs County Sheriff’s deputies said Cleveland was taken by helicopter to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Huntington for surgery. Major Scott Trussell tells WSAZ.com Cleveland was shot in the head and stomach with a small-caliber pistol.
Carol Burns told WSAZ.com Wednesday afternoon that Cleveland was in critical condition and in recovery following that surgery.
Deputies confirmed Burns was in custody and said the county prosecutor would look at the evidence from the investigation to determine whether he would face any charges.
One family member tells WSAZ.com Cleveland has had issues with alcoholism in the past, and Carol Burns said she believes her son is mentally unstable.