Detective Kyle Gibson with the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office charged 29-year-old Tyler Austin Messer with 2 counts of felonious Attempted First Degree Murder and felonious Attempting to Discharge a Weapon into an Occupied Dwelling. These charges are in addition to the original charges files against him: Assault by Pointing a Gun, Trespassing and 2 counts of Stalking. Messer was issued a $1,000,000 secured bond.
On the night of March 23rd, deputies were dispatched to a residence on Deep Woods Dr. in Marion for a male subject with a rifle on the victim’s back porch. Messer attempted to discharge the weapon into the residence but was unsuccessful. The suspect fled the scene and deputies were unable to locate him at that time. With video footage from the victim’s home surveillance cameras and the help of the community, detectives were able to identify the male suspect as Tyler Messer. The investigation led detectives to the recovery of a riffle and other physical evidence belonging to Messer which led to the updated charges.
