MEDINA, Ohio — Officials from the Medina County Sheriff's Office, along with other law enforcement agencies, held a press conference Tuesday to provide more details following the fatal shooting of Ohio Amber Alert suspect Charles Alexander on Monday night.
Authorities said Alexander was fatally shot by a member of the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Special Response Team after making numerous threats against his daughter, a 7-year-old girl, in the parking lot of an Arby's in Medina Township. The child was safely recovered.
The shooting of Alexander marked the end of a search that had begun more than five hours earlier in Jefferson County. It involved numerous law enforcement units, including the Medina Township Police Department, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Brunswick Division of Police, Montville Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, and Medina Fire Department.
"This was a very, very stressful situation," Medina County Sheriff Terry Grice said at the start of the briefing. "It took every single one of these agencies to have this outcome the way it was."
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
During the briefing, Grice said the incident involving Alexander and his daughter began in Empire, Ohio, at approximately 2:58 p.m. on Monday afternoon. Grice said Alexander went to pick up his daughter at school, but did not have custodial rights to the child. The girl's grandmother picked up the child and went to her house.
"The suspect went to that location and abducted the child," Grice explained. "With his vehicle, he struck another female at that location and then took off north in a Ford F-150."
Grice noted that Alexander left the pickup truck at a hotel in Fairlawn and was able to "steal" a U-Haul vehicle.
OHIO AMBER ALERT: Child found safe in Medina County, sheriff's office says suspect is dead
Brunswick Police Chief Robert Safran told reporters that his department was alerted to the possible presence of Alexander's U-Haul at a parking lot on Center Road just after 8 p.m.
When a Brunswick police officer approached Alexander, Safran said the suspect fled the scene. Police began a low-speed chase of Alexander on Center Road. Dashcam video shows the U-Haul strike one of the Brunswick police cruisers during the chase.
The U-Haul got on the ramp to I-71 south, where police deployed stop sticks that damaged one of the truck's front tires. As the chase continued, Safran said Alexander placed a call to dispatch threatening to shoot his daughter and himself if police didn't back off.
"I'm getting off at the exit, 18 Akron and Medina, I need them to not approach this car," Alexander told dispatchers in audio that was shared during the press conference. "Tell them I'm going to off us both if they don't back off."
"STAY BACK! STAY BACK! I'll shoot us both. STAY BACK!" Alexander can be heard shouting out.
Alexander did take the exit off of I-71 to Route 18 in Medina Township, where the U-Haul finally came to a stop in the Arby's parking lot on Eastpointe Drive.
"At some point, as our officers attempted to get close to the vehicle (U-Haul), there were some shots fired at officers," Safran stated. "Officers then retreated and we called for additional resources."
Grice said "extensive efforts were made" to negotiate with Alexander, but he continued to make multiple threats against his daughter. That ultimately led to the OSHP trooper fatally shooting Alexander, per officials.
"That decision is never made easy. It's a difficult situation for that trooper," Grice said. "But that act alone, right then, saved this little girl. There's no doubt in my mind."
After the bullets rang out, Alexander was pronounced dead at the scene by Medina County Coroner Dr. Lisa Deranek.
Sheriff's deputies said the young girl "appears to be completely OK" and was reunited with her mother. No officers were injured during the incident.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is assisting the Medina County Sheriff's Office in its probe of the incident.
You can watch Tuesday's briefing in the player below: