Man killed, two troopers wounded during shootout near Bluffton, Ohio

3/25/2006

BLUFFTON, Ohio A man was killed and two Ohio Highway Patrol troopers were wounded during a shootout yesterday at a gas station near Bluffton following a high-speed chase that started with a disorder at a Bowling Green license bureau office, authorities said.

The names of the man and the two troopers were not immediately available.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, the troopers were taken to Blanchard Valley Regional Hospital, Bluffton, with non-life threatening injuries.

A man presented fraudulent documents from Georgia about 10:30 a.m. to employees at the Ohio License Bureau of Bowling Green, 1616 East Wooster St.

When a Bowling Green police officer arrived, the man became nervous and reached for an unknown object at his waist. Officer Ryan Tackett struggled with the man, but was thrown to the floor. The man fled, firing a shot from a .223-caliber high-capacity, high-powered handgun as he ran from the business. Nobody was hurt at the BMV office.

He drove away in a 2006 Chrysler minivan, bearing a Michigan license plate, and headed south on I-75. A short time later, he stopped to let a female passenger out of the vehicle. She was apprehended by authorities, and was being questioned by authorities.

Bowling Green police, Wood County sheriff s deputies and troopers from three Ohio Highway Patrol posts joined the pursuit, which ended about 40 miles away at the Sterling Store at State Rt. 103.

That s where the man again fired his weapon at officers, who returned fire and killed him.

The Hancock County Sheriff s Office is continuing its investigation of the incident.

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