Elderly Couple, Granddaughter and Other Family Members Among 8 Killed in Ohio Shooting Rampage
A gunman shot dead 7 people including an 11-year-old child in broad day light in the aftermath of what is initially judged as a family dispute in the Copley Township near Akron, Ohio.
A Huffington Post report pieced together eye witness accounts to conclude that among the dead were a woman who lived in the house, her husband and their young granddaughter. Several other family members were believed to be killed.
The eye witness, a 75-year-old man, said he checked on the house after hearing the gun shots and saw a woman lying dead in the driveway, while her husband was dead in the garage. The couples' granddaughter and another woman were seen dead in the seat of a vehicle in front of the house. She saw another woman running out of the house, asking for help.
But she was killed right in front of the elderly witness. "She was talking to me, and he come up behind her and shot her, so I figured, maybe I'm next," the witness said, according to AP.
According to CNN, a woman who fled the crime scene and hid in the porch of a neighboring house reportedly said the killed 11-year-old was her son. She screamed "My son, my son, my 11-year-old son," and cried out that somebody shot her husband point blank at her home, CNN reported.
The police have not revealed the identities of those killed and how they are related to the killer. The identity of the gunman, who was killed an a fire exchange with the law enforcement officers, is also not disclosed.
The shooting spree happened at about 10.30 in the morning and witnesses said they heard at least 15 gun shots. Significantly, there were poses in between gun shots, suggesting that the killer was searching for his victims and shooting at them.
Other witnesses said they heard the gun shots and cries for help in the morning when they were getting ready for church service.
According to Copley Police Chief Michael Mier, the shooting was sparked by an argument at a home. Five people were killed inside the residence on Goodenough Avenue, while two others were killed on the nearby Schocalog road.
According to local TV reports, police found the gunman inside a home, from where he opened fire at the officers. The officers returned fire, and the suspected gunman was killed.
The condition of those wounded in the shooting remained unknown. Police said "Everyone's accounted for," and that there are no more victims. One of the injured is believed to be a woman, who has been taken to a hospital.
Authorities have sealed off the area around Schocalog Road and Goodenough Avenue and as many as four places have been marked as crime scenes.
Copley, which has a population of about 14,000 people, is about 40 miles south of Cleveland in northeast Ohio.
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