Three Ohio police were shot, two of them multiple times, when a gunman opened fire on two of them as they ate a pizza lunch in their patrol cars Wednesday, the police chief in Lorain said.
The gunman, who police said was fatally shot at the scene, had an “arsenal” of weapons and was “lying in wait” when he opened fire on the pair of parked patrol vehicles around 1:05 p.m., acting Police Chief Michael Failing said.
Mayor Jack Bradley said, “It’s a tragic day in the city of Lorain.”
Two officers had bought a pizza and were parked side-by-side in their patrol cars at the dead end of Missouri Avenue when the gunman, who was also parked at the dead end, opened fire, Failing said.
One of those officers was shot in the hand, and the second was shot multiple times, Failing said. A third officer who heard the call for help and was driving to assist was also shot multiple times, he said.
The two officers who were shot multiple times were flown to a hospital in Cleveland. They were in critical condition, Bradley said.
The investigation is being handled by the police department in Elyria, a neighboring city, because it was an officer-involved shooting, officials said.
The gunman was identified Wednesday only as a 28-year-old white man with a last known address in Lorain.
"This was an ambush situation," Elyria Police Chief James Welsh told reporters.
The gunman opened fire on the officers with a "high-powered rifle," Welsh said. Police returned fire, he said.
The shooting took place at an undeveloped industrial park that has walking trails and some streets, Failing said.
Officers who responded to the call for help loaded the injured officers into patrol vehicles and drove them to the hospital, he said.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the shooting a "horrible officer-involved shooting in Lorain, which appears to have been a targeted attack on law enforcement."
"Fran and I are praying for the three Lorain Police Department officers who were shot in the line of duty today, and our thoughts are also with their families, friends, and fellow officers in northeast Ohio," DeWine said.
Failing was asked whether he had any information about the gunman and gave a blunt response.
"I have no idea who he is, and I don’t care," Failing said.
Lorain and Elyria are cities of around 65,000 and 53,000 around 25 miles west of Cleveland.
