By Cliff Pinckard
cleveland.com
CONGRESS TOWNSHIP , Ohio — An Ohio sheriff and deputy both were stabbed Tuesday when responding to a call of a suspicious person, authorities say.
A news release from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office says Sheriff Thomas Ballinger and Sgt. Dan Broome both were taken to Wooster Community Hospital. Broome later was flown by helicopter to Summa Health Akron Hospital.
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Both have been released from the hospital and are recovering, the news release says.
A resident called 911 at about 9:45 a.m. when the male suspect jumped over the fence of the resident’s property and threatened to kill the resident’s family, according to cleveland.com/Plain Dealer news partner WKYC Channel 3.
A deputy responded and warned the man, but law enforcement officers returned at about 10:30 a.m. when the suspect again caused a disturbance, WKYC reports.
The suspect is accused of stabbing Ballinger and Broome with a pocket knife. The man then fled the scene and later posted a video online, claiming he was in a shed and had doused himself with gasoline, WKYC reports.
Deputies found the suspect and hostage negotiators were able to talk him into surrendering, WKYC reports.
“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,” a statement said. “It is truly appreciated by all of our staff.”
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