Ohio police sergeant fatally shot responding to 911 gunshots call, suspect and 2 others also dead

Police investigate after an officer was shot and killed while responding to reports of a break-in and gunshots at an Ohio home.

A police sergeant responding to a 911 call about a break-in and gunshots at an Ohio home was fatally shot, and the suspect and two other people also died, authorities said.

Four other officers and a police dog were hurt in the shooting Sunday night in Rittman, about 40 miles (64 kilometres) south of Cleveland, authorities said.

“Upon arrival at the scene, officers came under immediate gunfire,” a joint statement from Rittman Police Chief Robert Shows and the sheriffs in Wayne and Medina counties said.

Sgt. Scott Ries, a 10-year veteran of the Rittman Police Department, was killed, the statement said.

Three of the wounded officers were with the Medina County Sheriff’s Office and the fourth was with the Hinckley Police Department. Two of the group were taken to a hospital and were in stable condition. The others were treated at the scene.

The dog was in serious condition.

The names of the suspect and the others who died, as well as the circumstances of their deaths, were not released. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives posted online that the suspect’s former partner and her child died.

Before the 54-year-old Ries joined the department, he was a deputy sheriff for the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and an officer for the Sugar Grove Police Department.

In honour of Ries, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday ordered that U.S. and state flags to be flown at half-staff at all public buildings and grounds throughout Wayne County, the Ohio Statehouse and two other state buildings. Flags will remain lowered until sunset on the day of Ries’ funeral.

“We ask all Ohioans to keep the family, friends, and fellow officers of our fallen hero in their thoughts and prayers as they endure this unimaginable loss,” the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio posted online.

Kathy Mccormack, The Associated Press