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Tennessee man facing attempted murder charge after downtown Parkersburg incident

A Wood County Sheriff’s cruiser sits in front of the Wood County Courthouse on Thursday as authorities investigated a report of a man with a firearm in the vicinity, leading to one arrest. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — A Tennessee man was arrested Thursday afternoon following an incident involving a firearm in downtown Parkersburg.

A Wood County Sheriff’s Office press release said about 11:07 a.m. Thursday, deputies were notified of an incident occurring in front of the Wood County Courthouse and the Wood County Judicial Building involving two males and a firearm.

Chief Deputy G.M. Deem was first on the scene observing the problem party running away from him. Deem notified other responding deputies via radio of the suspect’s clothing description and direction of travel.

Deputies B.G. Turner, C.P. Nichols, and Captain R.A. George shortly observed the male walking towards a Honda SUV behind the Bureau of the Fiscal Services building at 200 Third St. They began pursuing the suspect on foot. Deputies caught up to the suspect and issued clear verbal commands to drop the weapon in his custody. The suspect complied putting the handgun down, he was then taken into custody.

The suspect was identified as Deandre Dowdy, 29, of Memphis, Tenn.

According to witnesses, they observed Dowdy engaged in an argument with the driver of a Honda SUV when Dowdy retrieved a handgun from his waistband and attempted to shoot the driver of the SUV however the gun jammed, the release said.

Witnesses explained that Dowdy then worked the action of the firearm to clear the jam, cycled in a new round, and again attempted to shoot the driver of the SUV as he drove away.

Units canvased the area in front of the courthouse and located a single unspent round lying on the ground. The bullet of this round was observed to be jammed far down into the casing, the release said.

The weapon was never discharged. The driver of the van has been identified and is a witness to the event. It is believed the incident stemmed from an argument between the suspect and the driver of the van who knew each other,

Dowdy was taken before Wood County Magistrate Joe Kuhl for arraignment on charges of attempted murder and two counts of wanton endangerment. His bond was set at $150,000 cash only. Dowdy was then confined to the Wood County Holding Center, pending the payment of his bond.

The incident remains an active investigation at this time. All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in the court of law, the release said.

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