One of three Lorain, Ohio, police officers shot Wednesday in what authorities described as an ambush has died, police said Thursday.
Officer Phillip C. Wagner was eating pizza for lunch in his parked patrol car with another patrol car next to him around 1:05 p.m. when a gunman, also parked in the area, opened fire on them, Lorain police said.
Wagner, 35, was shot multiple times, and he died Thursday at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, police said.
Two other officers were injured. The officer who was parked next to Wagner was shot in the hand, and an officer who drove to help after the gunfire was also shot multiple times, police said.
Officers killed the gunman in an exchange of gunfire, the police department in the neighboring city of Elyria, which is conducting the investigation, said Thursday.
Elyria police identified the suspect Thursday as Michael Parker, 28, of Lorain. The police department in Elyria, a neighboring city, is conducting the investigation because there was an officer-involved shooting.
Wagner served in the Marine Corps and was with the Lorain Police Department for seven years, Lorain police said.
“Officer Wagner’s life and service to our city will never be forgotten,” acting Police Chief Michael Failing said in a statement.
In and around Parker’s vehicle, police found “multiple high-powered rifles, handguns, and a substantial quality of loaded magazines,” Elyria police said in a statement Thursday.
There was also “a significant quantity of improvised explosive materials within the vehicle,” Elyria police said.
The motive remains under investigation, the department said. Lorain police called the shooting an ambush.
Gov. Mike DeWine ordered flags lowered to half-staff to recognize Wagner.
