9-1-1 call released in Mechanicsburg attempted murder, suicide

Champaign County deputies are investigating a New Year’s Eve incident that left one man dead and one woman critically injured as an attempted murder and suicide.

Joe Hooper, 51, allegedly shot his wife, Pamelia Hooper, 48, in the right forehead before shooting himself in what is believed to be a suicide, according to an incident report from the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office.

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Pamelia Hooper was taken by medical helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.

Larkmond Freeze, a Mechanicsburg resident and a friend of the Hoopers, called 9-1-1 around 1:40 p.m. Sunday to report that Pamelia Hooper had been shot in her home in the 9800 block of Loveless Road, according to a copy of the recording obtained by the Springfield News-Sun.

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Joe Hooper wasn’t injured when Freeze called 9-1-1 or throughout the nearly 10-minute call as Freeze waited for medics to arrive.

“Her husband was with her. He had the gun at the table and somehow or another, it’s gone off,” Freeze told the 9-1-1 dispatcher. “He’s crying and all upset.”

Pamelia Hooper was breathing at the time, Freeze said, but unresponsive.

Champaign County Sheriff Matt Melvin declined to release further details Tuesday, citing an ongoing investigation.

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The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, which was set to perform Joe Hooper’s autopsy Tuesday, referred the News-Sun to the Champaign County Coroner for the autopsy’s results. But Champaign County Coroner Josh Richards said he hadn’t received the report yet.

Pamelia Hooper remained in Miami Valley Hospital on Tuesday afternoon but her condition couldn’t be released, hospital hospital officials said.

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