Greenfield PD chief: Foot chase, gunshots were unrelated

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Rumors were swirling on social media Tuesday afternoon in Greenfield as police found themselves responding to two separate incidents, one of which involved gunfire, in a wildlife area on Creek Road, according to the police chief.

Greenfield Police Chief Jeremiah Oyer said the action began when a man fled from police at the scene of a domestic situation at a Section 8 housing unit on South Fifth Street. As officers gave chase through a nearby wildlife area, gunshots were heard in the distance, the chief said.

Officers deviated their search to the area in which the gunshots were heard, and found two males apparently engaged in target practice, according to Oyer. Meanwhile, the suspect who fled from police got away, Oyer said.

According to Oyer, the handgun was confiscated from the two men and the case was handed over to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, since the wildlife area is government land.

Oyer said he was not aware that charges have been filed in that case. Separate investigations in both cases are ongoing, Oyer said.

Numerous social media posts on Facebook had Greenfield residents wondering if the incidents were related, which they were not, Oyer said.

There was also a rumor that nearby schools had been placed on lockdown because of the gunshots, which was also not true, according to the chief.

“To my knowledge… nothing was locked down because it was after school hours,” Oyer said. “There was no lockdown ordered and no one was at risk, or I would have called a lockdown myself.”

The Greenfield Police Department posted a Facebook update later in the day clarifying the scenario “to put people’s minds at ease,” Oyer said.

Reach David Wright at 937-402-2570, or on Twitter @DavidWrighter.

By David Wright

The Times-Gazette

AIM Media Midwest News Network

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