Rand , Kanawha County , West Virginia

A man is dead and his long-time friend has been charged in his murder after a shooting in Rand Thursday morning.

Tremale Straughter, 29, is charged with first-degree murder and possibly faces life in prison if he is convicted. Kanawha deputies quickly arrested him after Donovan "Don Don" Taylor, 29, was found shot to death inside of a car on Emory Avenue.

"We had information immediately after the shooting that we had a good suspect. We knew who we were looking for," Kanawha County Sheriff Johnny Rutherford said.

Deputies were responding to a noise complaint about 4:30 a.m., but several minutes later were advised that shots had been fired. A witness told deputies he saw Straughter stick an AK-47 out of a car window and start shooting Taylor.

Deputies said there were 25 bullet holes in the Nissan Taylor was found dead in. Both large and small caliber casings were found at the scene, according to the criminal complaint.

"At this time, there are no other suspects," Rutherford said.

While a motive is unclear, Eyewitness News has learned Straughter and Taylor grew up together in Rand. Both have extensive criminal histories.

Taylor, at one point, had been charged with murder when he was a juvenile, but pleaded guilty to a robbery conspiracy in 2002. Straughter's brother, Tremaine, was a co-defendant in that same case but was found not guilty.

Tremale Straughter has been in and out of jail for years with dozens of charges going all the way back to 2002. He's been charged with everything from assault, to brandishing a deadly weapon to battery.

Deputies have not said if the alleged weapon, that AK-47, has been recovered, but a witness indicated to them that it could have been thrown in the river.

Straughter is being held without bond.

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More than a dozen schools shut down for the day as police searched for a shooter in Rand.

Deputies found a green car crashed on Emory Avenue in Rand around 4 a.m. Thursday. Inside that car was Donovan Taylor, also known as “Don Don.” He had been shot to death.

Police arrested Tremale Straughter later in the day and he is awaiting his arraignment. He is the accused gunman in this murder and is accused of shooting Taylor.

Possible motives for the crime are not being released.

The murder in Rand created a series of events which ended in the closure of 14 schools today.

The school board shut down more than a dozen schools in the area as police searched for the killer
Kanawha County School superintendent Ron Duerring said he wasn't taking any chances with the safety of his students.

Carver Career Center, Riverside High, three middle schools and nine elementary schools were initially placed on a two-hour delay.

But as the search for the murderer stretched into morning, Duerring made the decision to close all of them for the entire day.

“We were made aware there was a shooting in the Malden/Rand area, and we were really concerned about that because we'd understood that the person was armed, dangerous and still on the run,” Duerring said. “We didn't really want students being out in the streets, waiting at school bus stops and everything like that when he was still out there at large.”

Duerring said he had to shut down a number of schools not in the immediate area of the shooting because of interconnected bus routes.

“I just think it's common sense,” Duerring said. “Somebody was at large. They were armed. We did a two-hour delay hoping that maybe the police would catch them, and, if they didn't, then we would just go ahead and dismiss school for the day to keep children safe.”

All of the schools closed today because of the shooting will be open and operating normally tomorrow.

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Kanawha County deputies have arrested a man in connection with a killing in Rand and have released the identity of the victim.

Tremale Straughter was charged in the murder of Donovan “Don Don” Taylor that occurred early Thursday morning, according to a news release from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said they responded to a 911 call about 4:30 a.m. that was placed to Metro 911 reporting loud music on Emory Avenue in Rand. While deputies were en route, an update was relayed that shots had been fired. When they arrived, they found a green car crashed on Emory Avenue with a deceased black male in the driver’s seat. There were fired shell casings from small and large caliber firearms in several places along Emory Avenue.

The release said early statements from witnesses indicated Straughter was the shooter. Investigators believe Straughter fled in a dark gray Dodge Magnum car that was later found along Route 60. Straughter was located and met with investigators.

Kanawha County public schools were notified of the incident early and first delayed then canceled school in the area as a precaution while deputies and State Police searched for Straughter.

Possible motives for the crime are not being released.

Meanwhile, the sheriff’s office said it is increasing its patrols in the Rand area over the coming days.

* Facebook photo of Tremale Straughter who is charged in the Rand slaying.

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An arrest has been made in a fatal shooting that happened early Thursday in Kanawha County.

Eyewitness News has learned that the individual who police took into custody earlier Thursday, has been arrested. Eyewitness News has a crew on the scene. Keep checking wchstv.com for updates.

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Authorities are questioning a person of interest in connection with a fatal shooting in Rand.

The shooting occurred about 4:40 a.m. along Midland Drive. More than a dozen schools in the area were put on delay and then closed following the shooting.

Stay tuned to Eyewitness News for updates on this story.

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One man died after an early morning shooting Thursday, and deputies were searching for the gunman.

The shooting happened about 4:40 a.m. along Midland Drive in Rand. Kanawha County deputies closed Midland Drive while the search for the shooter continued. Deputies found the suspect's vehicle in front of the DuPont Plant in Belle, but the suspect was not inside. No arrests have been made as of 8 a.m.

Meanwhile, schools in the Rand area were put on a two-hour delay due to that shooting, but the following schools have now closed:

Belle Elementary
Carver Career Center
Cedar Grove Elementary
Cedar Grove Middle
Chesapeake Elementary
DuPont Middle
East Bank Middle
Malden Elementary
Marmet Elementary
Mary Ingles Elementary
Midland Trail Elementary
Pratt Elementary
Riverside High
Sharon Dawes Elementary

Keep checking wchstv.com for updates.

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