Wayne County Sheriff, Sergeant Stabbed During Suspicious Person Call; Suspect Taken Into Custody

Wayne County Sheriff, Sergeant Stabbed During Suspicious Person Call; Suspect Taken Into Custody

WAYNE COUNTY, Ohio — Wayne County Sheriff Tom Ballinger and Sergeant Broome were both stabbed today while responding to a suspicious person call, according to a statement from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office said Sheriff Ballinger and Sergeant Broome were responding to the call when the suspect stabbed both law enforcement officers. Both were transported to Wooster Community Hospital. Sergeant Broome was later life-flighted to Akron City Hospital, according to the Sheriff’s Office statement.

The suspect was taken into custody.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, both Sheriff Ballinger and Sergeant Broome have since been released from the hospital and are recovering.

During a press briefing, Captain Paul Brumme of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said the incident began after multiple reports involving a suspicious male in the county. According to Brumme, one of the calls came in at 9:42 a.m. reporting that a man had jumped onto a caller’s fence and began making threats about killing the caller’s family while “talking nonsense.”

A deputy initially made contact with the man around 9:52 a.m. At that time, Brumme said there did not appear to be grounds for an arrest, and the man was warned for disorderly conduct if deputies received additional calls involving him.

Later, around 10:29 a.m., another caller reported issues involving the same subject. Deputies arrived on scene around 10:59 a.m. Moments later, at approximately 11:00 a.m., radio traffic came across that a deputy had been stabbed and needed a squad. At 11:03 a.m., additional radio traffic indicated a second deputy had also been stabbed.

Brumme said the suspect fled southbound on Congress Road before disappearing from view. Law enforcement agencies quickly established a perimeter and began searching the area.

The search brought a large response from multiple agencies, including Wayne County law enforcement, Fire Departments, EMS, Medina County Sheriff’s Office, Summit County, Ashland County, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and other village agencies from outside the county.

“Once units got en route, we set up a perimeter as many law enforcement agencies as we could to make sure that perimeter was as sound as it could be,” Brumme said during the briefing.

The suspect was eventually located around 12:57 p.m. in a shed near a wooded area. Brumme said trained tactical teams responded, and hostage negotiators were able to talk the suspect down from a second-story area of the shed. He surrendered without incident around 1:56 p.m.

Brumme said the suspect was believed to be in his 30s and was known to law enforcement from prior incidents. He said investigators believed the man may have been under the influence “in some fashion” and may have had mental health issues connected to past drug abuse, though Brumme noted that some of that information was still speculative.

When asked about the stabbing itself, Brumme said the suspect used what appeared to be a folding pocketknife.

According to Brumme, the suspect was walking along the roadway when deputies made contact with him. The man was reportedly told to show his hands, and Brumme said the suspect then presented the knife. Brumme said the second deputy was likely stabbed while attempting to assist the first deputy, though investigators were still piecing together the exact sequence of events.

During the search, authorities also received information that the suspect may have been on Facebook Live while hiding. Brumme confirmed that information helped law enforcement gather intelligence, including visual and audio clues from the background.

Brumme also confirmed reports that the suspect had poured gasoline on himself while inside the shed. He said SWAT members took precautions during the arrest.

The lockdown was lifted after the suspect was captured.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office thanked the agencies involved at the scene, along with the community for the outpouring of support.

“The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank everyone involved at the scene and the community outpouring of thoughts, prayers, calls, stopping in the office all wanting to help in some way,” the office said. “It is truly appreciated by all of our staff.”

The suspect’s name and formal charges were not immediately released during the press briefing. Brumme said detectives were still working the case and that more information would be released once finalized.