PDT Staff Report

Joseph Nix, 23, of 1355 Township Road 320, Ironton, has been charged with felonious assault following a shooting incident Friday night, according to Lawrence County Sheriff Timothy Sexton.

About 9:44 p.m. Friday, the sheriff's office received a call to the Township Road 320 address in the Waterloo area of Lawrence County, and found one male subject injured. The name still is being withheld, but the sheriff said the victim was taken by Life-Flight to a Huntington, W.Va., hospital, with a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

In a press release, Sexton said the investigation is continuing, but early indications reveal the shooting victim came on to the property of another person and subsequently was shot. Investigators believe one shot was fired from a 12-gauge shotgun, the press release stated.

"Deputies are uncertain if there was any legitimate reason the injured person was at this Township Road 320 address and will continue to investigate the reason a firearm was discharged at the injured person," Sexton said.

The sheriff said Nix is being held in Lawrence County Jail, and the weapon believed to have been used in the shooting was recovered by deputies.

Sexton also said the investigation is continuing, and all findings will be referred to the Lawrence County Prosecutor's Office.