Police shoot man during hatchet attack

NEW PHILADELPHIA — Police shot a man who attacked them with a hatchet late Wednesday afternoon, according to New Philadelphia Police Chief Michael Goodwin.

The suspect is in stable condition in an Akron hospital after surgery to repair holes in his stomach, small intestine and diaphragm, according to his mother.

In a press release issued Thursday morning, the police chief said officers were sent at 5 p.m. Wednesday to the 500 block of North Broadway. They were responding to a call from a woman who said her son locked her out of her apartment.

Police told the woman to contact her landlord to help with opening the door.

When officers arrived, they learned that her 32-year-old son would not open the door voluntarily for her, Goodwin said. Officers tried to help the landlord enter the apartment.

“The son became very agitated and pushed the door shut and began to make threats,” Goodwin wrote in his prepared statement. “Officers pushed the door open and found him standing in the apartment with a hatchet.

“Officers retreated back out into the hallway to take cover. Suspect continued to make threats and then exited the door still armed with the hatchet and attacked the officers.

“At this point, one of the officers fired his duty weapon striking the male,” Goodwin wrote.

The police chief said the man fell down in the hallway and was handcuffed, at which point officers began first aid, which they continued until paramedics arrived.

Goodwin said the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is handling all aspects of the investigation. It will issue a report when the investigation concludes. It could take up to 60 days, Goodwin said.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the male and his family during this time,” Goodwin said.

He said no officers were injured because of the incident, but some may have fallen down steps as they scrambled to get out of the way on the small interior stairway landing.

The officer who fired on the suspect is on paid administrative leave until Tuesday, at which time he will be assessed, Goodwin said.

The police chief said he could not tell how many shots were fired. That information is part of the state investigation.

The suspect traveled by air ambulance to the Akron hospital after first going to Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital in Dover, Goodwin said.

The suspect’s mother said her son was on life support Thursday afternoon. He had one kidney removed, and had received blood transfusions after losing a lot of blood.

She said her son locked her out of the apartment because she refused to buy him alcohol.