A Christmas Day shooting outside a Tractor Supply store in Logan, Ohio was an apparent murder – suicide attempt. Law enforcement officers in the rural southern area of the state report that the fatal shooting occurred around 6pm at the Hocking Valley Mall. Logan is situated in the Hocking Hills and is approximately 50 miles southeast of Columbus.
Teresa Bickley, 30, of Glouster, Ohio was shot by Phillip Loschiavo, also 30, of nearby Bremen, before turning the gun on himself. Loschiavo was transported to Grant Medical Center in Columbus hospital with serious to life-threatening injuries, including a reported gunshot wound to the head. Loschiavo is reportedly in critical condition. Although a definitive motive remains unknown, the Logan Daily News is reporting that Bickley was the girlfriend of the allged shooter’s wife.
Police investigators believe that Loschiavo shot Teresa Bickley in the Tractor Supply parking lot in front of his estranged wife and their two young children. Katie and Phillip Loschiavo had reportedly been separated since October. Local media reports indicate that the estranged wife told police officers that she and Bickley began their relationship after the separation.
When Logan police officer arrived at the Tractor Supply on Christmas Day , they found two bodies lying on the ground, and Katie standing nearby with at least one of the children. Phillip allegedly called his wife earlier in the day and asked if they could met so he could return some of her belongings and exchange information.
The Ohio police report also indicates that Katie Loschiavo and Teresa Bickley gathered up the two young children and drove to the Tractor Supply parking lot to meet Phillip. When the group met, the alleged shooter reportedly handed his wife a “large sum of money” and the titles to his vehicles.
When Bickley got outside of the car to smoke a cigarette, the estranged husband allegedly asked her if she was happy. When the woman answered in the affirmative, Phillip allegedly pulled out his gun and fired three shots directly into her chest. As the woman’s body collapsed, he reportedly put the gun to his own head and fired a single shot.
Logan law enforcement officers also noted that Phillip had threatened Teresa recently, so the pair of women chose to meet him at a public place for safety reasons, Hocking County Coroner Dave Cummin told the local media. “This is just another example of man violence vs. women. He shot her at least three times in the chest at close range,” the coroner added.
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