As reported by Blasting News, Kirkersville Police Chief Steven Eric Disario was shot and killed on at around 8 a.m. on Friday while responding to an Active Shooting situation at the Pine Kirk Care Center in Kirkersville, Oh. The shooting left three other people dead, including the gunman himself and two staff members who worked at the nursing home. Police have now named the gunman.
When deputies arrived as backup at the nursing home, they found Disario, 36, lying in the street. The father of six had been shot. On entering the building, they found two staff members and the gunman dead.
None of the 23 residents of the home were injured, and they were evacuated to various hospitals close by.
Shooter of Kirkersville Police Chief identified
Police have now identified the shooter as Thomas Hartless, 43.
ABC 6 reports that Hartless had a history of violence. He had met up with a former girlfriend in Newark back in July 2009 and had held her captive and assaulted her for several hours. He received a 15-month sentence for aggravated assault. Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp said Hartless had also been sentenced in April 2010 to two years in prison for abduction and assault but had reportedly been released in December that year.
The @ColumbusPolice and other Central Ohio Officers lead procession for fallen Kirkersville Police Chief @10TV pic.twitter.com/TxjmchFTat
— Tim Flaherty (@TimSports10TV) May 12, 2017
The gunman was again arrested in January 2017, this time for domestic violence.
The New York Daily News quoted Thorp as saying investigators were still attempting to find a connection between the shooter and the nursing home. He said at the time that they don’t know what drove Hartless to commit the latest crime.
Motive appears to relate to a nurse at the Kirkersville nursing home
However, ABC 6 reports that the crime appears to relate to one of the nurses killed at the nursing home.
They have since been named as Marlina Medrano and Cindy Krantz. According to court records, Medrano was the one who had been involved in the January 2017 domestic violence case, where she had asked the police to bring charges against Hartless.
The report stated that Medrano had told police Hartless would kill her if she told them about the domestic violence incident.
She had asked to speak to police after Hartless’ father had taken her to the Licking Memorial Hospital for treatment after the gunman had assaulted her.
According to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, Hartless had a home in Utica where he lived “off and on” and authorities have obtained warrants to search his home and various vehicles. According to DeWine, the gunman had also held two people hostage in a wooded area, but they were not harmed.
