Standoff suspect dead

MANSFIELD -- The man who had held off police from inside his south side home died at 12:27 p.m. today at OhioHealth Medcentral Mansfield, according to Richland County coroner's assistant Bob Ball.

David Parker was shot in his home at around 11 a.m., ending a police standoff that lasted more than 24 hours at the 36 Randall Road home.

He still was breathing when he was taken away in an ambulance.

Parker was shot at around 10:50 a.m., Law Director John Spon said. "He was still breathing, but they've just taken him away in an ambulance.

"We don't know in what part of his body he was shot."

Spon said Parker had fired some shots at officers within a few minutes before being shot.

The shooting scene had been cleared by 11:15 a.m. and the bomb squad was getting set to approach the house, the law director said.

"They're just taking precautions," he said. "It's not that they expect or don't expect (the presence of devices).

"The gentleman simply would not do anything to save himself."

The law director said the incident will be independently investigated "by all of the appropriate authorities."

At four points earlier in the course of the standoff, Parker fired out of his house at police, firing at least 22 shots, Mansfield Police Chief Ken Coontz said. He damaged two SWAT vehicles with what appears to be a high-powered rifle and a robot that was sent inside the house.

Using a bullhorn, a police negotiator pleaded with Parker to surrender.

"308 times he was asked to surrender, 30 times he was asked to stop shooting," Coontz said.

The incident started around 8:30 a.m. Monday, when a Columbia Gas employee knocked on 58-year-old Parker's door.

"They show up to do some service on his lines, he comes out, points a gun at him and it results in the police showing up," Coontz said. "Of course the officers show up, he refuses to come out.

"That escalates it to a SWAT call-out, because he's supposed to be armed with an assault rifle. Then it escalates some more because he starts shooting at officers."

Some neighboring homes were evacuated. At others, neighbors were forced to remain inside, out of sight.

Spon called this situation the most dangerous he's seen for law enforcement.

Parker was shooting from various positions in the home with a high-powered weapon and an intent to kill officers, Spon said.

He said efforts were made to contact Parker's brother Jonathon, who lives in the Philippines with his wife. Those efforts failed.

The last contact with Parker came around 2 a.m. Tuesday, when a final volley of shots was fired from inside the house.

Spon said he had no direct knowledge of the basement of the home, but had heard secondhand it is described as a bunker.

Believing Parker had barricaded himself inside the basement, officers on the scene turned fire department water hoses on the house, attempting to flood the basement.

Spon said it was the safest, most pragmatic approach to resolve the situation.

At various points in the standoff, witnesses heard the explosion of flash grenades and saw clouds of what appeared to be tear gas.

On Monday, gunshots were heard coming from the home just before 2 p.m. and again around 2:45 p.m. Around 4 p.m., witnesses at the scene heard a loud crash. About a dozen rounds were fired around 5:20 p.m.

"Mr. Parker, we're not here to hurt you. Stop shooting at us," a police negotiator shouted through a bullhorn shortly after those shots were fired.

Mansfield and Ontario police were on the scene, along with the Allied Special Operations Response Team and the Ohio Highway Patrol's Mansfield post.