SPRINGFIELD — The call came across the radio close to 11:35 a.m. on New Year’s Day, a crackle over the scanner that cops hope they never hear — “officer down.”

What began as the type of call that law enforcement officers answer routinely ended in the deaths of a Clark County deputy sheriff and a shotgun-wielding assailant, as well as injuring a German Twp. officer.

Suzanne Waughtel Hopper, 40, died in a shooting at Enon Beach late Saturday morning.

The shooter was killed in a gunfight as officers from several different agencies converged on the scene to restore order shortly after noon.

It is not known if the gunman, whose identity has not yet been released pending notification of relatives, was shot by officers’ gunfire or if the man killed himself.

Patrolman Jeremy Blum, 32, was wounded in the shootout with what officials described as non-life-threatening injuries. He was flown by helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital Saturday, where he was listed in fair condition.

Parallel investigations are under way, the criminal probe spearheaded by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, and an internal inquiry by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

Eight CCSO employees involved in Saturday’s incident — one sergeant, three detectives and four deputies — have been placed on paid administrative leave as officials sift through the evidence in the search for answers.

Response to a call

Two Enon Beach residents were inside their mobile home Saturday when they were shaken by a boom and spraying glass.

A shot had been fired at their trailer, shattering a window and dusting their skin with glass shards.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office was alerted, bringing Hopper to the scene.

Hopper, described as a diligent and careful investigator, noticed some footprints in the area of the incident and went to work.

As Hopper was taking photos of the prints, investigators say a man in a nearby silver trailer emerged, pointed his shotgun at the deputy and fired.

In the ensuing minutes, officers from half a dozen law enforcement agencies would carry out a desperate attempt to get to Hopper and disarm a gunman.

Officer down

They surrounded the area in at least a dozen cruisers and unmarked vehicles, a throng of officers, suited up and guns drawn running to the aid of a wounded deputy and the threat of an armed man in a mobile home.

Then gunfire.

Shots rang out from the trailer and officers returned fire, and soon the call came a second time — officer down.

Patrolman Jeremy Blum was hit in the arm and was quickly rushed from the scene to an ambulance that would take him to safety.

In the tense moments to follow, three SWAT vehicles, two from the Ohio Highway Patrol and one from the Springfield Police Division, sped to the scene.

As the teams moved into position and recovered Hopper, officers were able to approach the silver trailer, finding the gunman alone inside, dead.

‘We are family’

In Clark County, the last law-enforcement fatality occurred in 1978 when Gregory Raynor, 32, was gunned down while investigating an alleged rape in Park Layne.

Prior to that, the last officer killed in the line of duty was Springfield Police Division Officer Leroy Warren, 41, during a car chase in 1959.

When the dust had settled at Enon Beach Saturday afternoon, the strain of the morning’s events was evident in the anguished faces of the officers at the scene.

“We are a family, this hurts us all,” said Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly. “It’s just been a tragedy for this entire community.”