WHEELING — The Wheeling Police Department has identified the victim who died following a shooting on Wheeling Island Saturday night, and police are investigating the crime as a possible self-defense situation, Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger said Monday.

Tyrone Raymont Thompson, 35, of Wheeling, was the victim in Saturday’s incident, Schwertfeger said. The suspected shooter has not yet been charged, is cooperating with police, and is not in custody, he said.

Schwertfeger said he would not release the name of the suspected shooter because that person had not been charged with a crime.

“We do not have concerns for the safety of the community because of the cooperation of the other party,” he said.

“Certainly, once we have gathered all the information and presented that, the decision about charges always comes from the Ohio County Prosecutor’s office. That has been forwarded, and we have been in constant communication with them.”

Just before 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Schwertfeger said, officers were called to the 100 block of South Huron Street following multiple reports of a shooting there.

“One of the calls came from a suspect claiming to have shot someone else,” Schwertfeger said.

Responding officers cleared the way for Wheeling firefighters to come treat the victim, and they immediately detained the suspected shooter, he continued. A firearm was seized at the scene.

There also were “a few” witnesses who provided eyewitness accounts of the incident, according to Schwertfeger.

“One of those was vital to where we are at today,” he added.

Wheeling Fire Department personnel took Thompson to WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, where he later died. The suspected shooter, meanwhile, was taken to the Wheeling Police Department for questioning, where he provided a statement, Schwertfeger said.

“From that statement, as well as witness accounts, investigators are investigating a self-defense motive,” he said.

“Based on initial evidence, the suspect has not been charged with a crime, and was released late Saturday night.”

The investigation has now turned to forensic analysis, according to Schwertfeger. An autopsy on the victim was expected to be completed Monday, and a Wheeling Police investigator was to be present during the autopsy, he said.

Ballistic analysis and toxicology testing will follow, with the toxicology testing expected to take as long as six weeks. During the coming days there will be additional interviewing of witnesses, Schwertfeger said.

Police also will continue to review surveillance video from properties in the vicinity, he continued.

“As always, the Wheeling Police Department demonstrates due diligence towards the facts of the incident – no matter to which way they ultimately lead,” he said. “We certainly owe that to both parties involved here.”

Schwertfeger did say he was not aware of any relationship between the suspected shooter and the victim.

Schwertfeger would not discuss further details of the case out of concern of contaminating any future witness statements. He encourages anyone who may have additional information to reach out to the Wheeling Police Department.