One of the three Lorain police officers wounded in an attack earlier this week has died, NBC News reported.
Officer Phillip C. Wagner and a fellow officer stopped in an industrial park and were eating pizza for lunch Wednesday when a gunman opened fire. The 35-year-old Wagner was shot multiple times and died Thursday, police said.
The Associated Press reported an armed man shot and wounded three police officers in Lorain in what Governor Mike DeWine called “a targeted attack on law enforcement” and the police chief in a neighboring city called “an ambush situation.”
According to AP, the man waited on a dead-end street shot and shot two officers when they parked their patrol vehicles to eat lunch in an industrial park to eat lunch Wednesday. The third officer responded to a call for help and was then shot and injured.
The New York Times reported the two officers who arrived together were shot multiple times and airlifted to a Cleveland trauma center in critical condition while the third officer received treatment for a gunshot wound to the hand.
Acting Police Chief Michael Failing told NBC News the gunman, identified as a 28-year-old white man, was fatally shot at the scene and had an “arsenal” of weapons and was “lying in wait” when he opened fire around 1 p.m.
Mayor Jack Bradley told NBC, “It’s a tragic day in the city of Lorain.”
“This was an ambush situation,” Elyria Police Chief James Welsh told reporters. He said the gunman used a high-powered rifle and the officers returned fire.
“Fran and I are praying for the three Lorain Police Department officers who were shot in the line of duty today, and our thoughts are also with their families, friends, and fellow officers in northeast Ohio,” DeWine’s statement read. “This situation reminds us that those who work in law enforcement risk their lives every day for the safety of their communities. We are so very grateful for the men and women who willingly and bravely serve and protect.”
