Three Ohio police officers were shot and wounded Wednesday afternoon by a suspect investigators say was “laying in wait” with an “arsenal of weapons.”
Acting Lorain Police Chief Michael Failing said that Phillip Wagner, 35, and Peter Gale, 51, had parked their patrol cars to eat lunch on a dead end road in an industrial area just after 1 p.m. when the shooter opened fire, WJW reported. The officers called for help, and one of the responding officers, 47-year-old Brent Payne, was also shot.
Failing said two of the officers were flown to a trauma center in serious condition while the third officer was shot in the hand and treated at a local facility.
The suspect, who has not been publicly named, was shot and killed in the subsequent melee, although it’s not yet known if he was killed by police bullets or died by suicide.
Elyria Police are heading the investigation. Elyria Police Chief James Welsh said the suspect “ambushed” the officers with a high-powered rifle. Investigators don’t believe anyone else was involved.
Lorain County Sheriff’s Office Major A.J. Torres said that explosives were found in the suspect’s car, which were detonated by the bomb squad. Other “suspicious items” were found at the suspect’s home.
Investigators have not speculated on a motive for the shooting or how the suspect knew the officers would be taking their lunch to that particular location at that time in order to “ambush” them.
Lorain’s former police chief, James McCann, announced his retirement — effective September 15 — last month following an investigation into comments he made to a detective in which he said he wished the detective was “a dirty cop” because “I need someone taken care of,” The Chronicle reported. McCann is on administrative duties until his retirement. There is no indication that his situation was connected to the shooting.
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[Featured image: Peter Gale, Phillip Wagner, and Brent Payne/Lorain Police Department]
