Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp says four people - including a police chief - are dead in a shooting Friday at a nursing home in Kirkersville. Thorp identified the police chief as 36-year-old Steven Disario, who led the Kirkersville department for three weeks. The gunman, 43-year-old Thomas Hartless of Utica, and employees Marlina Medrano and Cindy Krantz, were found dead inside the Pine Kirk Care Center on East Main Street. Thorp says an investigation is ongoing.
Thorp says Disario was found outside the nursing home. Disario had six children, with a seventh on the way. Some nursing home residents barricaded themselves during the shooting, but none of them were injured. Investigators say Medrano was a former girlfriend of Hartless, and public records show he had a history of physically and emotionally abusing her. Public records also show Medrano filed for a civil protection order against Hartless last week. The Licking County coroner says autopsy results likely wouldn't be released until Sunday.
