Ohio police chief, 2 others killed

KIRKERSVILLE, Ohio - The police chief of an Ohio village and two nursing home employees were killed Friday by a gunman who was later found dead inside the care facility, a sheriff said.

The slain police chief was identified as Steven Eric Disario, who headed the Kirkersville Police Department, Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp said.

Disario, 36, had only been on the job for about three weeks, Thorp said. He was a father of six children, with a seventh on the way, Thorp said.

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

Disario was responding to a report of a man with a gun, and his last radio communication said he had the suspect in sight, Thorp said.

Responding officers found Disario on the street and then investigated a report of a gunman in the nearby Pine Kirk Care Center, Thorp said.

Two employees of the center and the suspected gunman were found dead inside the nursing home, the sheriff said. Some residents barricaded themselves during the shooting, but none of them were injured, he said.

Thorp said police weren’t immediately able to positively identify the gunman and were trying to determine what, if any, relationship he had with the nursing home.