AMHERST TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A 27-year-old man is in custody after turning himself in to Amherst Police Monday morning after allegedly shooting one person and firing shots at another, according to the Lorain County Sheriff's Office.
Just before 8 a.m., deputies responded to the 7500 block of Leavitt Road after a 32-year-old woman was shot while driving a passenger van with five adults on board.
The sheriff's office said the Amherst Fire Department rendered first aid and transported her to a nearby hospital. The woman is in serious condition.
A Rising Sun Centers passenger van sat in the Dollar General parking lot off State Route 58. Behind the driver’s door, a shattered side window and glass all over the passenger seat can be seen.
“If they [the passengers] were up a little further, they would have gotten injured,” Dollar General Assistant Manager Susan Miller said.
Miller was about to open the store for the day when she saw EMS pull the woman out of the van.
The 32-year-old woman was shot in the middle of her back, according to Lorain County Sheriff's Office Major A.J. Torres.
The woman is a staff member for Rising Sun Centers, which provides support for developmentally challenged people.
None of her passengers were hurt; she managed to call 911 and safely stop the van.
“Unfortunately, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it shouldn’t happen to anybody. There’s no reason you should try to take a life. Find other means if there’s a problem with road rage, call us,” Torres said.
Torres says the road rage started around 8 a.m. with two men near the intersection of Cooper Foster and South Broadway in Lorain and continued west on Middle Ridge to State Route 58 in Amherst Township.
A 27-year-old suspect surrendered to Amherst police and faces a felonious assault charge. According to the sheriff's office, a second victim was located in Oberlin, but that individual was unharmed.
Torres says the young woman who was hit has no movement in her legs.
While Amherst Fire helped her, Miller says police asked if she could open the store for her five passengers.
“So we got chairs for them. I got water for them. I calmed them down, and they were pretty upset. Especially the one ... she thought she wasn’t going to see her mom, and that was sad,” Miller said.
Miller feels like she was put in the right place.
"If I hadn’t been here to have a place for these adults who were scared to feel safe inside I felt I did my deed,” Miller said.
“It’s awesome when you live in a good community and people watching out for each other. We commend that so much,” Major Torres said.
Rising Sun Centers, LLC. said the woman who was shot was hit when the shooter went between cars and fired their weapon. The organization posted a statement about the road rage on Facebook:
"As we write to inform you of an unforeseen event that happened this morning, we first would like to say that thankfully all clients are safe and okay.
During morning transport, there was a terrible incident of road rage that occurred on Route 58 in Amherst, near the Dollar General.
Unfortunately, our van was also driving on Route 58 as this driver with road rage went in-between cars and shot their weapon, hitting our staff member driving the van. We ask that you keep this staff member in your thoughts and prayers as they remain in the hospital, as well as the rest of our team members and clients.
Thank you for your continued support of Rising Sun Centers."
The suspect, who had not been identified, is being held in the Lorain County Jail, the sheriff's office said.
Anyone with any information about the shooting is asked to contact Det. Wholever at 440-329-3749.
