Ohio School to Keep Its Students Inside
An elementary school hit by a bullet will keep students inside for recess this week and gave teachers maps to avoid the five-mile stretch where 11 other shootings have happened, the superintendent said Wednesday.
Parents held their children’s hands as they walked past police officers into Hamilton Central Elementary after news Tuesday that authorities had linked the school shooting with 11 others at vehicles along Interstate 270, including one that killed a woman.
On Tuesday, parents watched nervously in the school gym as their kids dribbled basketballs around orange cones. They said they didn’t want to change their plans despite the shootings being linked.
Greg Mellon said he hoped shooting baskets at the recreation league practice would calm the kids, including his 8-year-old son Corbin, who was so frightened he cowered under the dashboard on the way to practice.
“He ducked down in the car,” Mellon said. “Of course he’s worried about it.
Four of the shootings – three at vehicles and one at the school last month – were from the same gun, Franklin County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Steve Martin said Tuesday.
Although ballistics tests could not link the rest of the shootings along I-270, investigators said they “are comfortable” saying all 12 are connected, he said. He would not elaborate.
Authorities have received more than 500 tips, but would not speculate about who the shooter might be and would not release the type of weapon.
“We think it’s not good for us to put that information out,” Martin said. “We don’t want people to stop calling us because we put out that kind of information.”
Martin said investigators are not relying on a profile of a suspect and are exploring all possibilities.
Local businesses have established a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
The shootings began in May along Interstate 270, the freeway that circles Columbus. Many were not reported until after Nov. 25, when 62-year-old Gail Knisley of Washington Court House was killed by a bullet that pierced the side of a car driven by a friend.
A house was shot at Tuesday near the freeway, but Martin said investigators have not linked it to the other shootings.
The latest shooting linked to the spree was a Nov. 11 shooting at Hamilton Central Elementary in Obetz, about two miles from the freeway.
The school sits along a rural road lined with pastures, three schools, a church and houses decorated with Christmas lights.
Customers at Hamilton General Store a half-mile down the road already had been sharing alternate driving routes, and Tuesday’s news increased their fears, owner Beverly Evans said.
“People are trying to figure out how to stay off 270, but now people aren’t sure if that will keep us safe,” Evans said.
Superintendent Bill Wittman said he believes the shooting at the school was not meant to harm anyone because it happened overnight, but nervous parents expressed concern.
Tiffany Ellis, 32, said her son’s second-grade classroom faces the front of the school, where the bullet struck.
“It makes me angry to be honest with you, that I have to drive down the road worrying about getting shot,” Ellis said Tuesday.
She said she plans to call Wednesday to see what precautions the district is taking, and may avoid her own living room, which also faces the two-lane road.
“That’s kind of scary to think someone could shoot through your window like that,” Ellis said.
Jimmy Eggers said he brought his 8-year-old son to the basketball practice Tuesday night because “it’s hard to stop your daily routine.” But he added: “It’s definitely scary. You fear for your kid’s life.”
At a gas station along the interstate about two miles from the school, emotions ranged from skittish to calm among drivers stopping to fill up.
“The odds are you’re not going to get shot,” said Tom Dixon, 56, of Circleville.
Richard Bailey, 32, disagreed. He uses I-270 each day to get to his job as a shipping manager at Rickenbacker Airport.
“I drive through with my cell phone in my hand every day. It scares me.”