Three officers were involved in the Oct. 7 shooting, who were identified as Sgt. Matt Mosier and officers Laura Blankenship and Alex Sears by the Troy Police Department.
Police were called shortly before 9:15 p.m. to an active shooter at Hobart Filler Metals on Kings Chapel Drive after two workers called 911 to report that a former employee, later identified as Thomas, was outside the facility firing a gun.
“He just pulled up like two minutes ago, pulled out a pistol and started shooting in the air,” one caller told a 911 dispatcher.
The second caller said he was outside with two other workers when the suspect arrived. The workers ran into a cornfield once gunfire erupted, according to 911 records.
“All I know is I heard a bullet ricochet by me,” the second caller said.
Thomas got into a red pickup truck shortly before the first police officer arrived. He drove over a curb and headed south on Kings Chapel Drive with two police officers following him, the second caller said.
The short pursuit ended with Thomas crashing the pickup before the officer-involved shooting, police said.
Troy officers reported shots fired at 9:20 p.m., according to dispatch records.
“I think he’s been shot,” the dispatch log read. “Send a medic.”
Thomas was treated for injuries from the crash and shooting at a local hospital. Once he was discharged he was arrested by Troy police and booked shortly after 5 p.m. Friday into the Miami County Jail.
Troy police recovered eight shell casings at the business, but no one was injured, according to the police report.
Part of the incident at Hobart Filler Metals was captured on surveillance video, the report stated.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the officer-involved shooting.
“The Bureau of Criminal Investigation was requested by the Troy Police Department to investigate an officer-involved shooting,” said Steve Irwin, a spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, said Oct. 8, the day after the shooting. “BCI was requested to lead the investigation and its Crime Scene Unit and Special Investigations Unit responded to collect evidence and begin our investigation.”
Hobart Filler Metals has declined to comment due to the ongoing police investigation.
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