Multistate Crime Spree Leaves Two Dead, Three Wounded

UPDATED: January 2, 2015, 1:33 PM

Authorities say a father and son’s multistate crime spree left a North Carolina couple dead and their home torched before the suspects were caught after a New Year’s Day shootout that wounded two police officers in West Virginia.

West Virginia State Police spokesman Lt. Michael Baylous said Friday that the suspects are 21-year-old Eric Campbell and 54-year-old Edward Campbell from Texas.

Police say officers pulled over a truck and an SUV around 4 p.m. Thursday on a highway outside Lewisburg.

Police say the truck’s driver opened fire, wounding both officers. Police say suspect Edward Campbell was the shooter and also was injured.

Authorities took both men into custody and say two recently deceased bodies were inside the truck.

The officers and suspect were hospitalized with injuries that weren’t life-threatening.

Police say the officers involved were Lt. Jeromy Dove, a 16-year-old veteran and patrolman Nicholas Sams, about three weeks out of training.

Both were wearing bulletproof vests and are on temporary administrative leave.

Original Post: January 2, 2015, 10:56 AM

Police have identified two men they say shot at officers who pulled them over and found two bodies in one of their stolen vehicles.

West Virginia State Police spokesman Lt. Michael Baylous said Friday that the suspects are 21-year-old Eric Campbell and 54-year-old Edward Campbell from Texas. Police have said the two reported that they’re father and son.

State Police say officers pulled over a truck and an SUV around 4 p.m. Thursday on a highway outside Lewisburg.

Police say the truck’s driver opened fire, wounding both officers. Police say suspect Edward Campbell was the shooter and also was injured.

Authorities took both men into custody and say two recently deceased bodies were inside the truck.

An emergency dispatch official says the officers and suspect were hospitalized with injuries that weren’t life-threatening.

State Police didn’t identify the victims, but North Carolina’s Granville County Sheriff Brindell B. Wilkins Jr. told Raleigh TV station WRAL that the bodies were those of Jerome Faulkner, 73, and his wife, Dora Faulkner, 62.

Lt. Baylous confirmed the identities of the two police officers involved in the shooting as Lt. Jeromy Dove and Officer Nicholas Sams.