NEW ALBANY, Ohio (news agencies) — A warehouse worker said in a frantic 911 call that he was shot in the neck and then took the gun from a co-worker after he had shot several others. Two people died and four were injured in the Ohio shooting that sent panicked employees fleeing.
It’s unclear what led to the Tuesday night shooting at the warehouse in New Albany, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northeast of downtown Columbus. The man accused in the attack, Bruce Reginald Foster III, 28, made an initial court appearance Thursday, with bond set at $20 million. He was seeking a court-appointed lawyer and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for next week.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office said Thursday that one of the shooting victims, Shakhar Chapagai, 30, died Wednesday evening at Mount Carmel East, a Columbus hospital. The other person killed was Kyle Vaver, 38, of Pickerington, the Licking County Coroner’s Office announced Thursday. Vaver died at the scene Tuesday, authorities said.
No details have been released about the conditions of the wounded workers.
In 911 calls, workers said some of the victims were shot in the production area. The man who said he took the gun away said he handed the weapon to a supervisor.
New Albany Police Chief Greg Jones said Wednesday that Foster has talked with investigators. “I wouldn’t call him fully cooperative,” Jones said.
The lawyer who appeared with Foster in court Thursday, Hailey Doliveira, said in phone interview that she was there for the bond hearing only. She said she did not meet with Foster and so could not comment on whether he denies the allegations. Two possible phone numbers for Foster or a relative were not working Wednesday.
Police responding to the New Albany industrial park Tuesday night just missed Foster as he took a rideshare away from the scene, Jones said. Teams of police, aided by drones and a police dog, searched the facility.
“It does appear that there was contact between a victim and the shooter,” Jones said. “At this point, I don’t have a clear picture of how involved that contact was.”
Foster was found in an apartment in Columbus and arrested Wednesday morning. Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Dan Deville said a stun gun was used to subdue Foster, who he said had declined to surrender.
The shooting happened at the warehouse for a company that makes products including cosmetics and toiletries. About 150 employees inside the building were evacuated to a nearby building.
“Nobody reported that there was any conflict or that he was in trouble at work,” Jones said.
This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Kyle Vaver’s hometown. It is Pickerington, not Pickertington.
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