Rittman police officer killed Sgt. Scott Ries after a shooting in Wayne County that left four people dead and eight people shot. Ries, a 10-year veteran of the Rittman Police Department, died at a hospital in Akron after responding officers immediately started taking fire on Chippewa Trail in Rittman.
Chippewa Trail in Rittman
Tom Ballinger said 911 calls came in around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday for "for some type of disturbance and shots fired" in the 90 block of Chippewa Trail. The victims were a 43-year-old woman and her teen daughter, and the suspect was a 38-year-old man.
The sequence moved fast. Ballinger said the victims were killed before the officer was killed and the suspect killed himself. That left four dead in one night, with the shooting unfolding before deputies and local officers could secure the scene.
Medina deputies and Vick
Four Medina sheriff’s deputies were shot. Two were transported to a nearby hospital and are in stable condition, while the other two were treated at the scene. Wayne County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Vick was shot and is in serious condition.
A joint statement from Rittman Police and Medina County Sheriff Terry Grice on Monday morning identified Ries as the fallen officer. The statement said, "Sgt. Ries served the Rittman Police Department with honor and courage. Throughout his service, Sgt. Ries demonstrated an enduring commitment to protecting others and upholding the values of our department. Our hearts are broken with this unimaginable loss. The incident remains under active investigation with BCI. We are grateful for the outpouring (of) support from our community and law enforcement partners,"
BCI on the scene
The Bureau of Criminal Investigation is handling the investigation, and vehicles from the sheriff’s department and Rittman, Wooster and Smithville police departments were towed from the scene. Some of those vehicles had bullet holes, and the Wooster Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol asked people to avoid the area near Rittman High School.
Ries had also served as a deputy for the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and as an officer for the Sugar Grove Police Department in Fairfield County before joining Rittman. The immediate question for neighbors and officers is what led to the disturbance and shots fired on Chippewa Trail, because that is where the night turned deadly.
