KIRKERSVILLE, Ohio - (WTVN) -- The Licking County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that the Police Chief in Kirkersville was the officer shot and killed this morning in the small town.
Steve Disario was 36-years-old, and had only been on the job for about three weeks, according to Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp.
Thorp adds the deceased also has 6 kids, with another on the way.
Police say the scene of the shooting in Kirkersville has been secured, and the suspect has been "neutralized". It's unclear whether that means the suspect is in custody, wounded or dead.
The shooting around 8 a.m. at the Pine Kirk Care Center brought a large contingent of law enforcement personnel to the 200 block of E. Main St., including the Licking County Sheriff's Office, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
(Photo courtesy Pine Kirk Care Center)
Thorp says Disario was shot near the nursing home, and then the shooter went into the home, where two others were shot and killed.
Thorp says investigators believe that the shooter is among the three dead in the facility.
Kirkersville Elementary School has been closed for the day. Students were taken to Watkins Middle School, where they were picked up by their parents.
Stay with NewsRadio 610 WTVN for updates.
(ABC6/FOX28 contributed to this story)
(Photo courtesy ABC6/FOX28)