Shooting victim seeks aid at school

Riverside Elementary locked down during conferences

Police responded to a shooting reported a little before 6 p.m. on Thursday, near Riverside Elementary School in Toledo.

A Riverside Elementary teacher who went into the parking lot of the North Toledo school Thursday to help a stray dog found herself helping a shooting victim instead, authorities said.

The incident happened during parent-teacher conferences and resulted in a 30-minute lockdown at the school, said Patty Mazur, Toledo Public Schools spokesman.

The teacher was approached by a man who said he had been shot just before 6 p.m. She called 911, then reported it inside the building, said police Sgt. Roy Kennedy. The teacher was not identified.

The victim, Matthew Roehrig, age unavailable, of Defiance, told police he parked near the school and approached a man to ask for directions when the man pulled a pistol from his waistband. Mr. Roehrig ran and was shot in the back, said police Sgt. Joe Heffernan.

He was taken to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center. His injuries were serious but not considered life-threatening, police said.

The school was open for parent-teacher conferences, but many parents leaving said they were not aware anything had happened outside until police locked down the school. Sergeant Kennedy was unaware of the dog’s fate. The incident remained under investigation.