Ohio police chief killed by “active shooter”
Kirkersville OH May 12 2017
An Ohio police chief on the job for less than a month and two nursing home workers were shot and killed seemingly at random Friday morning when a gunman started firing near a Kirkersville senior care center before apparently turning the gun on himself, officials said.
The unnamed shooter killed 36-year-old Kirkersville Police Chief Steven Eric Disario who was responding to a 911 call from the Pine Kirk Care Center, Fox 28 reported.
Investigators later found three bodies inside the home including the killer, Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorpe said.
A motive for the shootings was unclear.
The last radio transmission from Disario informed dispatch that he had the gunman in his sights. When backup units arrived, they found Disario’s body in the street.
Disario had six children and another baby on the way, Thorpe said.
Witness Jeffrey Griffin said he heard the gunshots while dropping his kids off at a babysitter’s house. He said people “took off running” from the Pine Kirk Care Center, and he was “pretty stunned.”
Police had previously told people in the area to stay inside their homes. Kirkersville Elementary School went on lockdown during the incident and closed for the day.
Kirkersville is about 24 miles east of Columbus.
The shooting closed down the main street in the village, which was flooded with police officers from several surrounding agencies and with ambulances.
The state Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the probe into what happened.
