Police say woman pumping gas, man who tried to steal vehicle were Marengo shooting victims
The Morrow County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday identified two people who were shot and killed at a Marengo gas station on Sunday night.
The suspect had earlier Sunday committed a series of criminal offenses in Columbus, including stealing multiple vehicles, according to a Columbus Police Department report.
According to the sheriff's office, the suspect, identified as Keith Moser, 25, of Zanesville shot, and killed Meagan Kennedy Stanford of Greenville, South Carolina, who was pumping gas at the Shell gas station on Ohio 61. The suspect then turned and fired at a U-Haul van whose driver returned fire, killing Moser, the sheriff's office said in news release posted on its Facebook page Tuesday.
The sheriff's office said it received a report of a shooting at the Shell gas station on Ohio 61 near Interstate 71 at 6:57 p.m. Sunday.
During the course of the investigation, it was learned that the alleged suspect, identified as Moser, attempted to steal a car on the northbound off ramp at Ohio 61 and I-71, resulting in shots being fired at the car, the sheriff's office said in the news release.
The alleged suspect then went to the Shell gas station and allegedly attempted to steal a minivan from Stanford while she was pumping gas. Shots were fired, striking Stanford, who succumbed to her injuries at the scene, according to the sheriff's report.
The suspect then turned and fired at a U-Haul van that was driven by a male occupant. The male occupant returned fire, and a fight ensued involving multiple people, the sheriff's office said. The alleged suspect died at the scene of apparent gun shot wounds.
The sheriff's office did not release Stanford's age or the name of the U-Haul van's driver.
The incident remains under investigation by the Morrow County Sheriff's Office, who said additional information may be released after the completion of the investigation and a review of the Morrow County Prosecutor's Office.
BCI’s Crime Scene Unit was requested by the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office to assist in the investigation by processing the crime scene, according to spokesman Steve Irwin.
Marengo is 36 miles south of Mansfield, about halfway to Columbus on I-71.
According to the Columbus police report, on Sunday at 6:12 p.m., a series of criminal offenses occurred that were later attributed to the suspect in the Marengo shooting. The series of crimes, in Columbus, ended at 6:47 p.m.
Incidents that occurred in the city of Columbus included:
6:28 p.m.: The suspect fired rounds into an unoccupied Chevy. The locked vehicle had been left running, while the owner went into a gas station, in the in the 4000 block of Kenny Road. The suspect left his car, a Toyota, behind and fled in the stolen Chevy. No injuries were reported. Columbus police responded.
6:36 p.m.: The stolen Chevy had been abandoned on Starret Road. Emergency 911 calls were received from residents in the 200 block of West Henderson Road. The callers reported that shots were being fired during an attempted robbery/home invasion. The suspect stole a white BMW X3 from one location in the area. No injuries were reported.
6:47 p.m.: the suspect attempted to rob a food delivery driver in the 400 block of Glenmont Avenue. Shots were fired; no injuries were reported. Columbus police responded. The suspect was identified as Moser and the stolen BMW X3 was recovered. Moser reportedly then headed north on I-71.
lwhitmir@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Suspect fatally shot by driver of U-Haul van who suspect fired upon