Ohio Man Opens Fire on Deputy During Wellness Check Near Cincinnati

A sheriff’s deputy came under fire in Mason, Ohio, on February 15 as they attempted to carry out a home wellness check after receiving a report of a possible overdose.

Local news reported that the suspect’s brother had phoned 911 to report a possible overdose, telling the operator his brother, identified as Lance Runion, had a history of emotional issues and had “taken something.”

Dramatic footage captured on a doorbell camera shows four deputies from the Warren County’s Sheriff Office outside the front of the house in snowy conditions. One of them, Deputy Sara Vaught, knocks at the front door of the house and waits on the porch for the occupant, while the others hang back in the front yard. Once the door opens, the person inside immediately raises a pistol and fires at the deputy on the porch. The deputy ducks quickly and fires at least three shots in return.

The Warren County’s Sheriff Office said in a press release that the deputies had made “repeated attempts” over several minutes to check on the resident before the door opened.

“Deputy Sara Vaught, who was not injured after being shot at, immediately returned fire, striking the suspect several times,” the sheriff’s office wrote. The suspect was “in critical but stable condition” at a local hospital, they added. Credit: Warren County’s Sheriff Office via Storyful