Two men from Texas have been arrested in connection with the shooting of two Lewisburg, West Virginia police officers. The alleged motivation for the police shooting appears to be an attempt to prevent the discovery of two dead bodies being transported in the suspect’s pickup truck.
Eric Campbell, 21, and Edward Campbell, 54, are both from Texas. The men were identified as being father and son. Breitbart Texas has learned that the father has an Indian Acres address in Alvin, Texas, in Brazoria County just south of Houston. Eric Campbell, shown above, is being held without bond on charges of malicious assault and attempted murder of a police officer, according to Southern Regional Jail and Correctional Facility spokesman Lawrence Messina. He spoke on the phone with Breitbart Texas. He said the injuries shown in the photo above reflect his condition before his arrest and are not the result of resisting arrest. Edward Campbell is still being held in the hospital where he is recovering from surgery to repair a gunshot wound to his leg. He will face the same charges upon his release from the hospital.
The officers who were shot have been identified as Lewisburg Police Officers Jeremy Dove and Nicholas Samms. A spokesperson for the Lewisburg Police Department told Breitbart Texas the two officers are expected to be released from the hospital today. The shooting occurred around 4 p.m. EST on New Year’s Day.
The police officers were conducting a traffic stop on Interstate 64 near the Lewisburg exit after observing a white SUV that was reported stolen out of North Carolina. When they pulled the SUV over, a red pickup truck, allegedly driven by Edward Campbell, also pulled over behind the police vehicle. The driver of the red truck then allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot both officers. One of the officers was able to return fire and struck the suspect in the leg. The suspect ran off into the woods leaving his truck behind. He was later captured. Breitbart Texas learned both officers were wearing protective vests and did not sustain life threatening injuries.
The driver of the white SUV, Eric Campbell, drove away and hid his vehicle by driving down a steep hill alongside the Interstate. He eventually walked out to the highway and surrendered without further incident. Messina said the police believe this is possibly where Eric Campbell sustained his facial injuries.
An examination of the red truck revealed a possible motive for the shooting of the police officers. The bodies of two missing North Carolina residents, Jerome Faulkner, 73, and his wife Nora Faulkner, 62, were allegedly found hidden under a mattress in the back of the truck. The couple had been reported missing earlier in the day from Granville County, North Carolina. Granville County Sheriff Brindel B. Wilkins, Jr. told WVNSTV-59 it appears the couple’s home was burned and the SUV was stolen by the two Campbell men. He said the crime appeared to be random in nature.
Messina told Breitbart Texas they expect North Carolina to seek extradition of the two suspects in connection to the deaths of the elderly couple. He also confirmed that Edward Campbell is currently on probation in Texas on an assault charge.
Bob Price is a senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.