YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has released body camera video and a report on an October 2025 incident in which a suspect shot a Youngstown police officer and was later found dead in an attic after a standoff.
The Oct. 9, 2025 incident began when officers responded to a suspicious person report at a residence, WKBN reported.
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Body camera video from the incident shows the officers searching a yardwhen one officer spotted the suspect hiding behind a shed.
“Gun! Gun!” the officer can be heard shouting as he attempted to take cover behind the shed. A shot can be heard, and the officer falls to the ground.
The suspect had shot the officer in the arm
The second officer’s body camera appears to show his gun jamming as he attempted to search for the suspect and fell over the other officer, “possibly causing his firearm to discharge into the ground,” according to the BCI report. His attempts to clear the jam were unsuccessful, and both officers ran to take cover in the front yard.
After the initial shootout with officers, the suspect ran inside the home. Responding officers cleared the yard areas before calling in the Mahoning Valley Crisis Response Team.
The team entered the home and cleared all areas except the attic, WKBN reported. When a Howland Police officer who served as a CRT team member entered the attic, the suspect appeared from under a pile of insulation, pointed a gun and fired.
The officer returned fire, shooting multiple times as he backed out of the attic. The CRT team exited the home, shot tear gas into the attic and waited for two hours before re-entering.
After several hours of attempting to get the suspect to surrender, a police robot was deployed in the attic. Through the attic, it was determined the suspect was deceased and that he was holding two handguns, according to the prosecutor’s summary.
The suspect died as a result of police gunfire, the prosecutor stated.
The Youngstown Police officer who was wounded in the shooting has not returned to duty, WKBN reported. A family member of the suspect stated that in the months leading up to the incident, the suspect had spoke about wanting to die. They also told investigators that he was “infatuated” with the game Grand Theft Auto and scenarios such as shooting law enforcement and robbing people, according to the BCI report.
