2011 Copley Township shooting

On August 7, 2011, a mass shooting occurred in Copley Township, Summit County, Ohio, by 51-year-old Michael E. Hance. Seven people were shot dead before the gunman was shot and killed by Copley police officer Ben Campbell.

Copley Township shootings
Michael Hance
LocationCopley Township, Summit County, Ohio, U.S.
DateAugust 7, 2011 (2011-08-07)
10:55 a.m. – 11:05 a.m.[1] EST (UTC-05:00)
Attack type
Mass murder, mass shooting, home invasion
Weapons
Deaths8 (including the perpetrator)
Injured1
PerpetratorMichael E. Hance
MotiveUnclear[2]

Details

Using two handguns, including a Hi-Point Model JHP .45-caliber pistol (which he bought from Sydmor's Jewelry in neighboring Barberton, Ohio five days before)[3] and a .357 Magnum six-shot revolver he bought from the same location in 2005, Hance opened fire at a house in the 2300 block of Goodenough Avenue. He first shot his 49-year-old girlfriend Rebecca K. Dieter, who was the only survivor in the shooting. Dieter managed to call 9-1-1 before escaping to the porch of her house and being shot again in the back, after which she pretended to be dead.[2][4]

He then ran into an adjacent house, where he shot and killed Dieter's brother Craig; Autumn Johnson, 16; her grandparents, Russell Johnson, 67, and Gudrun Johnson, 64; and Amelia Shambaugh, 16, who was visiting a friend at the time and was seated in her parked car when she was shot.[3] Hance then chased Autumn Johnson's father, 44-year-old Bryan Johnson, northward, and shot him to death in a nearby driveway on Schocalog Road.

He next followed Craig's son, 11-year-old Scott, into a house on the same street. There, Hance found Scott hiding behind a furnace in the basement with the home's current residents, Melonie Bagley and her three children (nine-year-old Dae'Shawn, three-year-old Destany, and a one-year-old daughter). Bagley tried to deny that Scott was with her before fleeing with her daughters. Hance found Scott and Dae'Shawn, shooting and killing the former while leaving the Bagley family alive.[5]

As Hance was leaving the house, Officer Ben Campbell, along with former Copley Township policeman Keith Lavery, spotted him. Together, they issued commands, which Hance ignored, raising his gun instead, firing shots at them. In response, Campbell and Lavery shot at Hance, with rounds from Campbell's rifle ultimately killing Hance.[6][7][8][9]

Perpetrator

Michael E. Hance, a 51-year-old male, was identified as the gunman in the shooting. He was described as extremely helpful, but also quiet, strange, eccentric and "not well-liked"[2] by residents of Copley Township. Acquaintances stated that he had "compulsions" that seemed to hint at a previously un-diagnosed mental illness. He graduated from Norton High School in 1978, and was voted the "most courteous" student in the class.

In 1997, Hance contacted police about a man threatening him with a gun when he went out to confront him for vandalizing his truck. He had recently been forced to care for Dieter's father, who was suffering from dementia, and lost his job at a copy store after it was closed down. He was also having tense relations with Russell and Gudrun Johnson, who were his next-door neighbors.[1] On one occasion, he was told by Gudrun to clean up his property, only for her to be forced away by him.[10] He is currently survived by a sister who lives in Mogadore, Ohio.[1]

Victims
Name Age Relationship Notes
Rebecca K. Dieter49Hance's girlfriendShot at her and Hance's home
The only survivor of the shooting
Craig Brian Eric Dieter51Rebecca's brotherShot at Russell and Gudrun Johnson's home
Autumn Marie Johnson16Russell and Gudrun's granddaughterShot at her grandparents' home
Russell Lee Johnson67Autumn's grandfatherShot at his and Gudrun's home
Gudrun Marie Scheiner Johnson64Autumn's grandmotherShot at her and Russell's home
Amelia Lynn Shambaugh16Friend of AutumnShot at Russell and Gudrun Johnson's home
Bryan Richard Johnson44Autumn's fatherShot on Schocalog Road
Scott Calvin Dieter11Craig's sonShot inside a home on Schocalog Road

References
  1. "Copley shooter Michael Hance was eccentric, but also helpful to neighbors in Akron". cleveland.com. August 9, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  2. "Police Work to Determine Motive in Deadly Ohio Shooting Rampage". FOX News. August 8, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  3. "Ohio rampage suspect bought gun from pawn shop". CBS News. August 10, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  4. "Becky Dieter remembers being shot: 'We lost many great people that day'". Ohio.com. August 7, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  5. "Copley mother still struggling for peace of mind after shooting in her home". Ohio.com. August 8, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  6. "Gunman among 8 dead in shooting rampage in Copley Township". WEWS-TV. August 7, 2011. Archived from the original on 2015-04-29. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  7. "Ohio police shoot man dead after 'domestic killings'". BBC News. August 7, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  8. Leigh Remizowski (August 8, 2011). "Police name suspect in Ohio shooting spree". CNN. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
  9. "Police ID Copley Shooting Rampage Gunman". Chicago Tribune. August 8, 2011.
  10. https://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article1074937.html

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