(LORAIN, Ohio) — An Ohio officer has died a day after a gunman opened fire on him and a fellow officer while they were eating lunch in their patrol vehicles, authorities said.
Lorain Police Department officer Phillip Wagner, 35, was critically wounded in what police described as an “ambush attack.” He died on Thursday in a hospital “despite the valiant efforts of fellow officers, first responders and medical professionals,” the Lorain Police Department said.
“Officer Wagner’s life and service to our city will never be forgotten,” acting Lorain Police Chief Michael Failing said in a statement. “Our department mourns the loss of a true hero and stands in unwavering support of Officer Wagner’s family, friends, and fellow officers during this heartbreaking time.”
Wagner joined the Lorain Police Department in February 2022 and had previously served in the U.S. Marine Corps, police said.
Two other Lorain Police Department officers were also injured in the shooting, which occurred at the dead end of an undeveloped industrial park in Lorain, located in northeast Ohio, police said.
The gunman was killed in an ensuing exchange of gunfire, with the motive for the shooting not yet known, the Elyria Police Department said Thursday.
The shooting unfolded around 1 p.m. Wednesday, after Wagner and fellow Lorain officer Peter Gale, 51, had picked up pizza for lunch and were parked side-by-side at the dead end, according to Failing.
The suspect had parked at the dead end and had an “arsenal of weapons with him,” Failing said at a press briefing Wednesday.
In and around his vehicle were “multiple high-powered rifles, handguns, and a substantial quantity of loaded magazines,” the Elyria Police Department, which is investigating the incident, said in a press release Thursday. A “significant quantity of improvised explosive materials” was also found in his vehicle and safely detonated away from the scene, police said.
“He was laying in wait and opened fire with multiple rounds at both of the officers who were sitting in their vehicles,” Failing said.
A third Lorain officer who responded to a call for additional officers, 47-year-old Brent Payne, was then shot by the suspect multiple times in his patrol vehicle, Failing said.
Additional officers who responded to the scene helped treat their wounded fellow officers and drove them to an area hospital, according to Failing.
Gale was shot in the hand and has since been treated and released, police said Thursday.
Wagner and Payne both suffered multiple gunshot wounds and were airlifted to another hospital for treatment, Failing said. Payne had surgery Thursday morning and is recovering, police said.
Officers returned fire on the suspect, who was armed with a “high-powered rifle,” according to Elyria Police Chief James Welsh, who spoke at a separate briefing earlier Wednesday.
The suspect was shot and pronounced dead at the scene, Failing said. The Elyria Police Department identified him Thursday as 28-year-old Michael Parker of Lorain.
Welsh said no other suspects have been located and they are “fairly confident” there was only one shooter. The area has been contained, he said.
A motive for the shooting remains under investigation, Elyria police said Thursday.
“This is a difficult day for the Lorain Police Department and the law enforcement community,” Welsh said.
“It will take time to determine exactly what transpired here today,” he said.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he has been briefed on the shooting, saying it “appears to have been a targeted attack on law enforcement.”
“This situation reminds us that those who work in law enforcement risk their lives every day for the safety of their communities,” he said in a statement on social media. “We are so very grateful for the men and women who willingly and bravely serve and protect.”
Ohio Sen. Jon Husted said his office has offered assistance to local officials.
“There is no place for this kind of violence in our state or country,” he said in a statement on social media.
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