An armed man gunned down a new village police chief on an Ohio street on Friday and then killed two employees in a nearby nursing home, where he later was found dead, a sheriff said. No nursing home residents were injured, nor were two hostages briefly held by the alleged gunman.

The slain police chief, Steven Eric Disario, had headed the Kirkersville Police Department for only about three weeks, Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp said. Disario was shot on a street near the Pine Kirk Care Center, and the two female employees and the gunman were found dead inside, Thorp said.

Disario, 36, was a father of six children, with a seventh on the way, the sheriff said. Flowers and flags appeared in an impromptu memorial outside the village police hall, located less than a block from the site of the shooting.

Thorp called it a hard day for all.

"We've lost a police officer. It's just a tragic event," he said. "I guess the only peace of mind is that the threat is over."

Thorp gave the following timeline of events in the village of about 500 residents, roughly 25 miles (39 kilometers) east of Columbus:

The gunman was in a wooded area behind the nursing home when he encountered two passers-by, whom he temporarily took hostage.

Disario, responding to a report of a man with a gun, apparently encountered the gunman in that area. The chief's last radio communication said he had the man in sight.

When a shot was fired at the chief, the hostages escaped unharmed.

"We don't know the cause or the purpose or what drove this individual to do this," Thorp said, adding that was being investigated.

Responding officers found Disario on the street and then investigated a report of a gunman at the nursing home, Thorp said.

Some of the nursing home's 23 residents barricaded themselves during the shooting, but none of them was injured, he said. All were relocated to other facilities until investigators were out of the nursing home.

Police did not immediately identify the gunman. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who came to the scene Friday afternoon, said search warrants had been executed on two vehicles owned by the suspect and at his home in Utica, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) away.

Thorp said law enforcers were still working to determine what, if any, relationship the man had with the nursing home. The facility is secure, and it's unclear how the gunman got in, he said.

The shooting closed down the main street in the village, which was flooded with police officers from several surrounding agencies and with ambulances.

"We don't have this stuff go on around here," said Ron Rogers, 67, a local shopkeeper. "The only sirens we hear are when the Fire Department goes out."

A woman who lives across the street said she and her 6-year-old son heard it happen.

"We heard it all," said Tiffani Chester, 25. "We heard yelling, we heard the gunshots, then it was just sirens."

Pine Kirk is licensed for 24 patients and had 23 as of May 3, according to Ohio Department of Health records. A message was left with the center, whose employees appeared wheeling medical carts out of the facility Friday evening to put them into storage while patients are away.

Peter Van Runkle, the head of the state trade association representing nursing homes, told the Dispatch that Pine Kirk caters to "the forgotten members of society."

"They provide them with a small environment that's less institutional than some facilities might be," he said. "They do a good job of taking care of a niche clientele."

The state Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the probe into what happened. County Coroner Michael Campolo didn't expect to release autopsy results until Sunday, after all four victims had been examined.

Gov. John Kasich ordered flags flown at half-staff in Licking County and the Statehouse and expressed his condolences in a tweet.

"Join me in praying for his family, friends and colleagues, and for the others injured in this tragedy," the Republican governor said.

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Welsh-Huggins reported from Columbus. Associated Press writer Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and AP researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York City contributed to this report.</s>A shooting at a nursing home in Ohio left four people dead on Friday morning. The deceased included the Kirkersville police chief, two employees of the nursing home, and the suspected shooter.

"The chief responded to a report of a man with a gun at the Pine Kirk nursing home at 7:50 a.m. in downtown Kirkersville in western Licking County. "He was shot after he entered the nursing home. When authorities entered the nursing home, they found three other people dead. Two victims were employees of the nursing home, and authorities believe the [other] person was the shooter, Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp said. ... "In the last communication authorities received from the chief, he said he had the shooter in sight. Thorp said he assumes [Chief] Disario had engaged the suspect."



Chief Steven Eric Disario, 36, had been on the job for only three weeks, member station WOSU reports. He was a father of six, with another child on the way.

WOSU spoke with Kathy Rogers, who owns a thrift shop in downtown Kirkersville. Rogers said she heard multiple gunshots:



" 'I heard the first shot. I thought it was a tire blown out,' Rogers said. 'I went back in the house, and I heard another one, and that's all I know. Then I heard sirens. It got crazy.' "Rogers says she heard several other gun shots, then a man 'yelling and screaming.' "



Kirkersville Elementary was placed on lockdown, and its students transported to the town's middle school.

Pine Kirk Care Center is a 24-bed facility in a converted residential residence, the Dispatch reports.

"They cater to the forgotten members of society — folks that have, in addition to physical health care needs, behavioral health issues," Peter Van Runkle, executive director of the Ohio Health Care Association, a nursing-home industry group, told the newspaper. He noted that nursing homes are required to be open to the public so that people can visit their loved ones.

Ohio governor John Kasich tweeted that he was "Shocked & pained by the horrific shooting in Kirkersville, ask for prayers for those injured. Grateful for law enforcement's quick response."

Kirkersville is a small town of 590 people about 25 miles east of Columbus.</s>A police chief in a central Ohio town, on the job for just three weeks, was among four people fatally shot on Friday morning at a nursing and rehabilitation home, officials said.

Steven Eric Disario, 36, was killed after responding to a shooting in Kirkersville, Ohio, Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp said.

Disario was fatally shot after seeing the shooter who was holding two people hostage in a small wooded area behind the nursing home, Thorp said at an afternoon news conference. The hostages ran when the shooter fired and they were not harmed.

Thorp could not be reached for further comment, but local media, citing law enforcement officials, reported that two female nursing home employees and the shooter were later found dead inside the facility by other officers.

None of the three have been identified and the motive for the shooting was not immediately known. It is unclear how the shooter gained access to the building, which was usually secured, Thorp said at the news conference.

Some 23 residents in the nursing and rehabilitation home, identified by local media as the Pine Kirk Care Center, were evacuated to local hospitals, and none were injured, Thorp said.

Kirkersville is a village in central Ohio with a population of around 500 that is around 24 miles (39 km) east of Columbus. Disario, a father of five or six children who was expecting another child, had only been police chief for around three weeks, Thorp said.

“It’s a real hard day. It is a hard day for all of us,” Thorp said.</s>KIRKERSVILLE, OHIO (NEWARK ADVOCATE) - The police chief of Kirkersville, Ohio, and three others have died after a shooting at a nursing home in the southern Licking County community.

Sheriff Randy Thorp said Kirkersville Chief Steven Eric Disario, two employees of the nursing home and the shooter are dead. Thorp said Disario, a Licking County resident, had six children and was expecting a seventh.

Authorities responded to the report of an active shooter situation at the Pine Kirk Care Center, 205 E. Main Street in Kirkersville. Thorp said the initial police call reported someone observed a man in the street with a gun and Disario went to the scene to engage him.

The community, located off Interstate 70 in southern Licking County is home to fewer than 600 people.

Emergency medical helicopters were called to land at National Trail Raceway, which is nearby.

Kirkersville Elementary School is closed for the day.

Ben Richards, communications director for Southwest Licking Local Schools, said all the students at Kirkersville Elementary were on the buses when the situation started and diverted to Watkins Middle School. He said they will keep the kids there at the middle school until they are given permission to return to Kirkersville.

While parents can pick up their children at the middle school, Richards said "they don't have to."

All other Southwest Licking Schools are on a level 1 lockdown.

"No one is going in, no one is going out," Richards said.

U.S. 40 is closed in the area and will remain closed for the remainder of the day, according to the patrol.

Our news partners at The Advocate has reporters and a photographer on the scene. We will have more updates on this breaking story.

© Gannett Co., Inc. 2017. All Rights Reserved</s>KIRKERSVILLE, OH (WCMH) — Kirkersville Police Chief Steven Eric Disario was shot and killed at a nursing home in Kirkersville.

Three people were also found dead inside the nursing home. Investigators believe one of those deceased was the shooter.

Chief Disario was 36-years-old. He had only been chief of the police department for about three weeks. He had six children and was expecting the birth of a seventh.

The active shooter situation was first reported around 7:30am Friday in the 200 block East Main Street in Kirkersville at Pine Kirk Care Center.

Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Robert Sellers says Friday that the situation has ended and there is no threat to the public.Remaining residents at the nursing home were taken to area hospitals.

Lt. Sellers says the sheriff has requested assistance from the Ohio BCI who is on the way now. Roads in the area are expected to remain closed all day.

Kirkersville Elementary School is on lock down while police investigate. A heavy police presence is still located at the school. However, NBC4 reporter Dan Pearlman says all of the students who attend classes there have been safely moved to Watkins Middle Schools.

Parents can pick up their children from the middle school. Parents should NOT head to the elementary school.

“It was scary because I just put my kid on the bus and I didn’t know where he was going,” one parent told NBC4. “They didn’t call us till like 15-20 minutes later.”

“Any time, even if it’s not your school, just for it to be so close, you know, they have to be pretty vague on what it is, just let you know that everything is locked down, so, uh, that was a little alarming because all schools are locked down, so you’re not really sure what’s going on,” another parent told NBC4.

 

 Response from State Officials

Many police agencies in central Ohio Tweeted their condolences to the fallen police chief.

“Our thoughts & many prayers go out to the #Kirkersville Police Dept & the Kirkersville community. We will assist in any way we can,” Columbus Police said on Twitter.</s>KIRKERSVILLE, Ohio — An officer was shot while responding to an active shooter at a nursing home in Ohio Friday morning, WCMH reports.

The incident was reported at Pine Kirk Care Center in Kirkersville. At least two more people were hospitalized and police say the shooter has been “neutralized,” according to WSYX.

The condition of the officer and the other victims is unknown.

Gov. John Kasich reacted to the shooting on Twitter:</s>Last fifteen minutes or so. We've learned a total of four people are dead income workers bill Ohio as you mentioned. One and then being beat police chief who is on the job there for just about three weeks we have learned that he's a father of six. With a baby on the way a tragic story. Out of Ohio today what we've learned is that that police chief their respondents this scene for a call of a man with a gun. And engaged with the suspect ounce I have a nursing home and at a very small community we're talking about 500 people. In this town that officer were told we shot and killed. In this three day air and when responding officers arrived they found him gotten out of the street and then they went in signed to that nursing facility. Inside they found three more people dead. One of and they believed to be gunman and two others who are employees acted nursing home and I 23 people also living in that facility there in Ohio. Many of them were able to take cover in their rooms and stayed safe they've been moved out at this point Eleanor injuries to any residents there but again. We have four people dead a police chief here in this very small community who's a father at six a gunman they believe and into nursing home employees.</s>(CNN) -- A gunman on Friday shot and killed a central Ohio village's new police chief -- a father of six who'd been on the job just a few weeks -- in an alley before entering a nursing home and killing two employees, police said.

Responding police found the gunman dead in the nursing home in Kirkersville, a village of about 500 people about 20 miles east of downtown Columbus, authorities said.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the gunman killed himself, Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp said. The sheriff said he didn't know the motive for the shootings, or whether the gunman knew any of the slain.

Kirkersville Police Chief Steven Eric Disario, 36, was responding to a report about a man in a street with a firearm when he saw the gunman an an alley behind Pine Kirk Care Center nursing home shortly before 8 a.m., Thorp said.

"I believe the last radio transmission we had from (Disario) was that he had the subject in sight," Thorp said.

Investigators believe the gunman shot Disario, went into the nursing home and fatally shot two workers, according to the sheriff.

Sheriff's deputies arriving to back up Disario found the chief shot in the alley, Thorp said. When they entered the nursing home, the gunman and the workers were dead, he said.

The names of the suspect and the slain nursing home employees weren't immediately released.

Police found some of the home's 23 residents hiding in the building, Thorp said.

None of the residents was injured. They were transferred to various hospitals Friday morning so that police could process the crime scene; it wasn't immediately clear when they would be allowed to return.

Disario was a father of six children and was expecting a seventh, said Thorp, who added that he did not know the chief.

Gov. John Kasich said on Twitter that he was pained by news of the shooting.

"Ohio mourns the loss of Kirkersville Chief Eric Disario, who died in the line of duty," Kasich tweeted.</s>An Ohio police officer and two nursing home employees were shot and killed seemingly at random Friday morning when a gunman began firing near a Kirkersville senior care center, officials said.</s>A shooter opened fire inside an Ohio nursing home Friday, killing two employees and the town's brand new police chief, police said.

Dozens of law enforcement officers were dispatched to Pine Kirk Care Center in Kirkersville after panicked 911 calls.

Kirkersville Police Chief Steven Eric Disario, 36, died, and two nursing home workers were also found dead, Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp confirmed.

"It's a real hard day for all of us," Thorp said. "The deputies who pulled him to safety, if you will, are having a real hard time."

Disario was a father of six with a child "on the way," according to Thorp. He had been police chief for three weeks.

Thorp said authorities believe a fourth body is that of the shooter, but the shooter's motive and identification are not yet known. It is unclear how the suspect died, and police did not elaborate on what kind of weapon was used.

Reports of an active shooter at Pine Kirk Care Center began just after 7:30 a.m., according to NBC News affiliate NBC4i.

Thorp said approximately 23 residents were in the building when the bullets began flying. They were removed so the scene could be processed, he said.

The nursing home appears to be located in a residential area, and people in nearby houses were told by law enforcement to stay inside while authorities handled the situation.

A witness told NBC4i that he heard gunshots and saw people fleeing from the building. People shouted that they needed police, the witness said.

At approximately 9:30 a.m., officers said the situation had "been contained."

Students who were en route to Kickersville Elementary School, which is near the nursing home, were diverted to Watkins Middle School, according to local reports.

The elementary school — about a quarter of a mile away — was on lockdown as a precaution while the police investigated.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich sent his condolences to the officer's loved ones.

"Ohio mourns the loss of Kirkersville Chief Eric Disario, who died in the line of duty. Join me in praying for his family, friends and colleagues, and for the others injured in this tragedy."
A shooting attack at a nursing home in Kirkersville, Ohio, kills four people, including a police chief and the shooter.