
An Ohio family is in shock and now mourning after losing their 4-year-old daughter. The girl was at the dentist’s office for a routine visit when she was hit by a stray bullet and killed. Outside of the office, police were engaged in a shootout with an armed suspect. When the suspect opened fire, so did police.
In addition to the girl, a police officer was hit, and is now in the hospital. The suspect was also killed in the shootout.
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On January 23, the St. Clair Township Police Department was engaged in a street shootout with 30-year-old Joseph Como, in Columbiana County, Ohio. In a statement, the police said they were called about a “possibly suicidal man.”
“Officers found the man walking down the street and attempted to talk with him. Almost immediately, the man opened fire. Officers returned fire, hitting the suspect,” the statement explained.
A police officer, identified as Officer Dakota Wetzel by police, per WFMJ, was hit in the head during the shootout. The girl, identified as 4-year-old Rosalie Martin, was also struck in the head by a bullet. According to police, the bullet went through the building of Dentistry for Children & Teens.
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WTOL reported that authorities said that officers tried to administer first-aid to Como. He died from his injuries hours later. Court records that WFMJ published showed that the man had an active warrant out for domestic violence charges.
The police posted an update about the officer who was shot on January 23. Officer Wetzel is in stable condition, and could open his eyes and “give family members a thumbs up overnight.” He will remain in intensive care, but everyone is feeling “optimistic.”
A friend of Rosalie Martin’s family has set up a GoFundMe. “They never expected to lose their precious girl at all, let alone this soon,” the fundraiser says. According to the fundraiser’s organizer, the family is currently seeking the help of a counselor to handle their immense grief.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has been called in to conduct an independent probe of the shooting, per WTOL.