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In the line of fire: U.S. deputy marshal Derek Hotsinpiller, who was fatally shot while trying to arrest a drugs suspect
A U.S. deputy marshal who only graduated from the academy a year ago was killed today when he tried to arrest a suspect wanted on drugs charges.
Two other deputies were wounded when Charles E Smith, 50, opened fire as they walked through his front door to arrest him at his home in Elkins, West Virginia.
Officers fired back and shot Smith dead but 24-year-old deputy, Derek Hotsinpiller, had already been fatally injured.
Jeff Carter, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service, said: 'Immediately upon entry into Smith's residence, three deputy marshals were fired upon by a shotgun blast and struck.
'Deputies returned fire on Smith and he was shot dead on the scene.'
Mr Hotsinpiller was shot in the neck and died of his wounds at Ruby Memorial Hospital, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Another deputy was shot in his bulletproof vest and a third was shot in the hand.
One is still in hospital, and the other has been released after treatment.
The deputies were serving an arrest warrant on Smith - who had lived at the house since 2006 - for possessing and distributing cocaine and possessing an illegal firearm.
Mr Hotsinpiller graduated from Fairmont State University in 2009 with a degree in criminal justice, and played for the university's basketball team in his first year.
Scene of the shooting: Elkins in West Virginia, where a drugs suspect opened fire on three marshals as they tried to arrest him at his home
New recruit: Deputy U.S. marshal Derek Hotsinpiller, who was killed after just a year in the job
He had worked as a deputy for a little over a year.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holider said: 'In fulfilling their critical duties, these courageous deputies put their lives on the line and put the safety of others above their own.
'Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Deputy U.S. Marshal Derek Hotsinpiller, who made the ultimate sacrifice today, and with the two deputies who were injured in the line of duty.'
One of Smith's neighbours, Mary Everhart, said she knew nothing about the shooting until emergency vehicles arrived.
She said: 'They might have been raising hell and I didn't know about it. I didn't hear a shot.'
Mr Hotsinpiller is the first deputy to die in a shooting since 1992. So far this year 24 law enforcement officers have already been killed in the U.S, of whom 14 were shot.
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