Ohio Gunman Dies After Wounding 3

GENEVA, Ohio — A man opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle on the town’s main thoroughfare as residents headed to work Tuesday, wounding three people. The gunman was killed.

Police Chief Dan Dudik would not confirm the man killed himself but said no one else, including police, had fired any shots.

The shootings took place about 500 feet from an elementary school. Several children were on their way to class, but none was hurt.

Michael J. Harwood, 32, of nearby Madison fired about 50 shots from a .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle fitted with a telescopic sight, the police chief said.

Dudik would not discuss a possible motive but said Harwood was aiming at a specific car, whose driver was wounded and in guarded condition at a hospital. A second motorist was wounded and was listed in satisfactory condition. A pedestrian was treated for a gunshot wound and was released.

The man opened fire while walking along a sidewalk about 8 a.m., said mechanic Bob Hill, who ducked behind cars for safety.

Scott Burr was getting ready to walk his children to school when he heard shots.

“I sent all my kids back in the house,” Burr said. “There was a guy at the end of the road with a gun. I saw him shooting a car up and shooting at the guy as he was running down the road covered in blood.”

Milt Berry, who was working on a telephone cable, and a co-worker jumped into the hole they had dug, called 911 on a cellphone and stayed there until police arrived.

Geneva is a town of about 6,500 residents, about 45 miles northeast of Cleveland.