New Delhi: A shooting incident took place on Friday at multiple sites in Butler Township in US' Ohio and four people were killed. According to an ANI report, the police are now searching for the man possibly connected to the shootings.
The shootings took place in the small Ohio town just north of Dayton. After the incident, the Butler Township Police Chief John Porter addressed the media and named Stephen Marlow as a "person of interest" and said he is likely "armed and dangerous", news agency ANI quoted media outlet CNN.
The police further said that the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office is assisting the authorities and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) are also probing the incident.
The statement added that information indicates that Marlow may have fled Ohio. The FBI said he has ties to Lexington, Kentucky, Indianapolis, and Chicago and may be in one of those cities, according to the ANI report.
After revealing the accused's identity as Marlow, the police also described his physical appearance and said that he was 5'11" and about 160 pounds, with brown hair. Authorities believe Marlow, 39, was wearing shorts and a yellow T-shirt and fled in a white 2007 Ford Edge.
Asking anyone with information about Marlow to contact the FBI, authorities said the suspected shooter should not be approached.
Police responded to a report of shots fired just before noon Friday, Porter said, and the four victims died at the scenes. "This is the first violent crime in this neighbourhood in recent memory," Porter said. "We are working to determine if there was any motive to this horrible tragedy or if mental illness played any role."
Police do not believe there is an ongoing threat to the neighbourhood, but have deployed additional force and the Dayton Police Bomb Squad as a precaution, Porter said.
Porter said people should call the police if they have information on Marlow's whereabouts or see the Ford Edge. Butler Township is a town of just under 8,000 residents about 9 miles north of Dayton.
(with agency inputs)