TWO PEOPLE ARE DEAD FOLLOWING A FATAL SHOOTING AT A DARKE COUNTY HOME, AND A CRASH THAT KILLED THE ACCUSED SHOOTER THURSDAY AFTERNOON. ACCORDING TO SHERIFF MARK WHITTAKER – HIS OFFICE IS INVESTIGATING A SHOOTING INCIDENT THAT STARTED AT A HOME IN THE 2500-BLOCK OF STATE ROUTE 571 WEST OF GREENVILLE – AND ENDED WITH TWO VEHICLES CRASHING IN A FIELD IN THE 9600-BLOCK OF COLETOWN-LIGHTSVILLE ROAD. JUST BEFORE 2:25PM THURSDAY – THE DARKE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE RECEIVED A 9-1-1 CALL FROM A MAN WHO REPORTED THAT HE HAD BEEN SHOT BY A FRIEND AT A RESIDENCE IN THE 2500-BLOCK OF STATE ROUTE 571. THE VICTIM TOLD DISPATCHERS THAT HE WAS BEING CHASED AND SHOT AT BY THE SUSPECT IN A VEHICLE – WHILE TRAVELING NORTH ON COLETOWN-LIGHTSVILLE ROAD. DARKE COUNTY DEPUTIES AND UNION CITY POLICE OFFICERS RESPONDED TO THE AREA OF THE SHOOTING IN PROGRESS. THE SUSPECT RAMMED THE VICTIM’S VEHICLE SEVERAL TIMES – CAUSING BOTH VEHICLES TO CRASH INTO A FIELD. THE SUSPECT ROLLED HIS S-U-V MULTIPLE TIMES AND WAS EJECTED FROM THE VEHICLE. UNION CITY POLICE OFFICERS ARRIVED ON THE SCENE SOON AFTER THE CRASH AND CALLED FOR UNION CITY FIRE AND E-M-S. THE SUSPECTED SHOOTER WAS FOUND UNCONSCIOUS AND NOT BREATHING IN THE FIELD. UNION CITY FIRE AND E-M-S DECLARED THE MAN DEAD AT THE SCENE. THE VICTIM WHO WAS BEING CHASED AND SHOT – WAS TREATED BY UNION CITY FIRE AND E-M-S AT THE SCENE AND WAS TRANSPORTED BY CAREFLIGHT TO MIAMI VALLEY HOSPITAL, WITH MULTIPLE GUNSHOT WOUNDS. THERE WERE NO OTHER OCCUPANTS IN EITHER VEHICLE DURING THIS INCIDENT.
THERE WERE DEPUTIES INVESTIGATING THE ACCIDENT SCENE AND AT THE SAME TIME THAT OTHER DEPUTIES WERE AT THE HOME IN THE 2500-BLOCK OF STATE ROUTE 571, THERE THE SHOOTING INCIDENT STARTED. DARKE COUNTY DEPUTIES FOUND A WOMAN DEAD INSIDE THE HOME. THIS CASE IS BEING INVESTIGATED AS A HOMICIDE – PENDING DETERMINATION BY THE DARKE COUNTY CORONER. SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES, DETECTIVES, AND A DARKE COUNTY CORONER’S INVESTIGATOR BELIEVE THAT BOTH CRIME SCENES ARE RELATED. THERE IS NO ACTIVE THREAT TO THE PUBLIC. MORE INFORMATION WILL BE RELEASED BY SHERIFF WHITTAKER – WHEN DETAILS BECOME AVAILABLE.