A police chief and father of six, who was sworn into office just weeks ago, died Friday in a shooting that also claimed three other lives at an Ohio nursing home.
Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp said two employees of Kirkersville’s Pine Kirk Care Center and Kirkersville police Chief Steven Eric Disario were killed in the shooting. The gunman reportedly turned the gun on himself after the attack.
Disario, 36, had a seventh child on the way, Thorp said.
He was responding around 7:50 a.m. to a report of a gunman in the street near Pine Kirk Care Center when he was killed.
“This is a terrible tragedy for our community,” Thorp said.
Bill Sims said his daughter, 23-year-old Sarah Sims, works at the nursing home and locked herself in the basement when she heard the sound of gunfire. She called 911 before sending a text message to tell her mother that she was safe.
“It’s just traumatizing,” Bill Sims said. “We’re so glad she’s safe.”
None of the nursing home’s 23 residents were injured. They have been taken to area hospitals.
The state’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich called the shooting “horrific” in a post on Twitter Friday morning.
Kirkersville is about 30 miles east of Columbus.
The Cox Media Group National Content Desk contributed to this report.
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