Ohio Manhunt For Suspect In The Shooting Of A Female Deputy, One Other, Ends Peacefully


An Ohio man who shot a sheriff’s deputy and one other civilian is in custody after a seven-hour manhunt through a Cincinnati neighborhood Thursday night into the early hours of Friday, authorities said.

According to WCPO, a Warren County Sheriff’s deputy was responding to a report of a domestic disturbance at an apartment complex in Deerfield Township’s Landen around 9:45 p.m. Thursday, when Mohammed Abdou Laghaoui, 19, reportedly opened fire, wounding the female deputy, according to Warren County Sheriff’s Lt. John Faine.

According to the sheriff’s office, Laghaoui also allegedly shot another Ohio man before fleeing from the scene.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that a manhunt that would last seven hours ensued. Deputies quickly issued a shelter-in-place order, which warns residents to remain in their homes or an indoor location with doors locked. The alert left dozens of residents and owners and patrons of nearby businesses stranded for hours and unable to leave or return to their homes until the alert was lifted.

As the manhunt expanded, officials issued a Blue Alert for all of southwest Ohio around 2 a.m. Friday, which notifies the public that a law enforcement officer has been critically injured, killed, or missing and that the suspect or suspects are still at large. The Blue Alert also calls on the public to aid in locating a suspect or suspects.

A supervisor for Warren County dispatch later confirmed authorities were searching for an “active shooter” suspect in the area around the Kroger grocery store.

The manhunt ended peacefully after Laghaoui returned to his apartment at the Orchards of Landen complex just before 5 a.m. and surrendered. According to officials with the sheriff’s office, Laghaoui said he had thrown his weapon in a nearby lake and returned to surrender. Officials took the suspect into custody.

The injured deputy was transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where she reportedly was awake and talking. After treatment, the unidentified deputy was released from the hospital shortly before 4 a.m. The other victim, a male civilian, suffered non-life threatening injuries, Faine said.

Faine would not comment on the nature of the domestic disturbance.

Elizabeth Everheart, the manager of a nearby Shell station, said the scene was tense after the shooting and during the shelter-in-place order.

“There was police with assault rifles going through the yards, scanning the area, and I just told him that police had it under control and that we were fine.”

Emily Johnson, 17, of Maineville, Ohio, told the Enquirer that she was stranded in the parking lot of a nearby Meijer grocery store for about seven hours as a result of the shelter-in-place order and police road blocks.

Once the suspect was apprehended, Johnson said she felt relief to be returning home, but she remained concerned about the events of the overnight hours.

“It’s crazy. This kind of thing doesn’t happen around here. You never think it’s going to happen to you. I’m just glad we get to go home.”

According to the Warren County Sheriff’s Department’s Persons Currently in Custody website, Laghaoui is being held on two counts of felonious assault, aggravated murder, and murder and is set to be arraigned on June 13.

Faine said more details on the shooting and subsequent manhunt in Ohio would be forthcoming in a press conference.

[Warren County, Ohio Sheriff via Associated Press]

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