2 dead in suspected domestic shootout. Neighbor: ‘None of us immune to it’

Two people were killed near Yellow Springs after what the Greene County sheriff called a shootout in a potential ambush outside a house valued at more than $1 million.

Greene County deputies were dispatched to 3443 Grinnell Road near Yellow Springs around 11 a.m. Wednesday. There, Sheriff Gene Fischer said they found two people dead.

He said he couldn’t release much information about what happened as the investigation is ongoing, but he did say that it appeared a shootout took place.

“There are shell casings on the ground and there are weapons,” Fischer said, adding that he has hasn’t seen anything like this incident before.

FIRST REPORT: Sheriff: 2 dead after ‘shootout’ on Grinnell Road near Yellow Springs

The sheriff said the two people who lived in the home were alive. Their names, nor the names of the dead, were released Wednesday.

One of the victims was the ex-wife of the man who owned the home who shot her in an exchange of gunfire, Fischer said.

The incident began when a man with a gun was shot after he approached a vehicle as it pulled into the driveway, the sheriff said. Fischer said the homeowner was inside the vehicle and opened fire.

The homeowner — who has a CCW permit — then shot and killed his ex-wife, who drove up to the scene soon after the first shooting. She was armed with a gun and exchanged gunfire with the homeowner, Fischer said.

Photos from the scene indicate the two dead people were found on either side of the road.

Authorities recovered three firearms at the scene and waited for a search warrant to enter the house and the vehicles, the sheriff said.

Greene County Coroner Kevin Sharrett said that his office will do a complete forensic autopsy on the two, however, it did appear that they had died from gunshot wounds.

The Dayton Daily News requested the 9-1-1 calls of the incident. That request was not fulfilled Wednesday. The sheriff said it is his belief that the residents of the home made the phone call.

However, police scanner traffic indicates there was a chaotic scene during that phone call.

“Have a very hysterical female on the line saying someone’s shooting at her husband,” dispatch said to responding officers.

The incident took place at a home around John Bryan State Park.

According to the Greene County Auditor’s website, the home was appraised at more than $1.1 million. The home is in the Miami Twp. tax district, the auditor’s website says.

The website lists the homeowner as “FATY LLC.”

The property has been listed for sale since September, with a reported asking price of $3.9 million, and had been featured on DaytonDailyNews.com.

EARLIER: Sheriff: 2 dead after ‘shootout’ on Grinnell Road near Yellow Springs

A resident who lives near where the gunfire erupted said the incident shows violence can happen anywhere.

“It’s really a testament that these things can happen at any time to anybody, and none of us immune to it,” said the woman, who did not give her name.

She said when she heard the shots, she knew they weren’t related to hunting when she heard yelling.

“I heard someone say get on the ground or throw your gun down, and it sounded like the kind of commands you would hear law enforcement give to somebody and then a lot of yelling, and then silence,” the woman said.

She said she heard four gunshots that sounded like they came from a large gun.

“People shoot guns in the Glen all the time, but it’s past hunting season. It was a big gun and went on for several seconds, and the yelling,” she said. “It was clear there was some kind of personal conflict.”

Fischer said they have not made any arrests at this point. Investigators will gather all the evidence, then review the circumstances with prosecutors and possibly a grand jury to see if there would be any potential charges.

The sheriff said it is possible cameras captured the incident.

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