Fugitive found dead after tear gas deployed in Chillicothe standoff, sheriff says
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (WCMH) - A standoff between a person armed with a shotgun and multiple law enforcement agencies ended Thursday with one person dead, according to the Ross County Sheriff's Office.
The U.S. Marshals' Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team went to a Chillicothe home in the 14000 block of Westfall Road to serve a felony arrest warrant to a person they heard was there. When they got there, the sheriff's office said SOFAST officers found the wanted person in the home's garage armed with a shotgun.
SOFAST surrounded the home as more agencies got to the scene, including deputies from the sheriff's office and Chillicothe Police Department SWAT. The sheriff's office said negotiators tried to talk the person out of the garage for hours, but they would not leave. The law enforcement groups then tear-gassed the garage to try to get the wanted person to exit, but no one came out.
Authorities then broke into the garage, and they found the fugitive inside. Medical crews pronounced the wanted person dead at the scene, but the Ross County Sheriff's Office did not specify how they died. The sheriff's office is not releasing the name of the suspect while they work to notify the family of what happened.
No law enforcement officer pulled a gun during the standoff, according to the sheriff's office. Detectives and the Ross County Coroner's Office are investigating the incident further.