A family argument in Copley, Ohio ended in the deaths of eight people in two places, including an 11-year-old child

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

A family argument in Ohio ended in eight people being shot dead in two places, including an 11-year-old, and two more people were wounded, say authorities.

Five people to were killed in one location, then two more were killed nearby before police killed the gunman, police chief Michael Mier told WKYC-TV.

The shootings happened in a wooded, residential neighbourhood of older homes outside Akron, Copley Township officers said. The neighbourhood remained blocked off by police all afternoon.

Jeff Kirby of nearby Norton said he was visiting his mother's home not far from the shootings at mid-morning when he heard gunfire – about 15 shots with several pauses between them.

Kirby, 53, said the last gunfire he heard occurred about the same time he heard sirens in the neighbourhood.

Copley police sergeant Eric Goodwin said he did not know the conditions of the wounded but said he believed there were no more victims. "As far as I know, everyone's accounted for," he said.

He gave no more details, including how the shooter and victims were related, their names or what led to the argument. "That's still under investigation," he said.

Copley is a town of about 14,000 people outside Akron in northeast Ohio.