A gunman opened fire on two Ohio police officers while they were eating lunch in their patrol vehicles on Wednesday, injuring both of them, authorities said.
A third officer who responded to the scene was also injured in the shooting, which police described as an “ambush situation.”
The suspect had parked at a dead end of an undeveloped industrial park in Lorain, located in northeast Ohio, and had an “arsenal of weapons with him,” Acting Lorain Police Chief Michael Failing said at a press briefing Wednesday.
The shooting unfolded around 1 p.m., after Lorain Police Department officers Peter Gale, 51, and Phillip Wagner, 35, had picked up pizza for lunch and were parked side-by-side at the dead end, Failing said. The suspect had parked at the dead end, he said.
“He was laying in wait and opened fire with multiple rounds at both of the officers who were sitting in their vehicles,” Failing said.
A third Lorain officer who responded to a call for additional officers, 47-year-old Brent Payne, was then shot multiple times in his patrol vehicle, Failing said.
Additional officers who responded to the scene helped treat their wounded fellow officers and drove them to an area hospital, according to Failing.
Wagner and Payne both suffered multiple gunshot wounds and were airlifted to a hospital where they are undergoing treatment, Failing said. Gale was shot in the hand and is being treated at a hospital, he said.
Officers returned fire on the suspect, who was armed with a “high-powered rifle,” according to Elyria Police Chief James Welsh, who spoke at a separate briefing earlier Wednesday.
The suspect, described as a 28-year-old man, was shot on the scene and pronounced dead, Failing said.
Police have not released the name of the suspect.
Welsh said no other suspects have been located and they are “fairly confident” there was only one shooter. The area has been contained, he said.
The Elyria Police Department is investigating the incident.
A motive is not known at this time, Welsh said.
“This is a difficult day for the Lorain Police Department and the law enforcement community,” Welsh said.
“It will take time to determine exactly what transpired here today,” he said.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he has been briefed on the shooting, saying it “appears to have been a targeted attack on law enforcement.”
“This situation reminds us that those who work in law enforcement risk their lives every day for the safety of their communities,” he said in a statement on social media. “We are so very grateful for the men and women who willingly and bravely serve and protect.”
Ohio Sen. Jon Husted said his office has offered assistance to local officials.
“There is no place for this kind of violence in our state or country,” he said in a statement on social media.
