MEDINA TOWNSHIP, Ohio (AP) — A man who abducted his 7-year-old daughter from a relative’s home in Ohio was killed by officers several hours later following a police chase, authorities said. The girl was not physically injured.
Charles Alexander, 43, who did not have custody of the child, took her from the home in Empire around 3 p.m. Monday after an argument and a physical altercation. Authorities soon issued an Amber Alert for the girl.
Police attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Alexander around 8 p.m. in Brunswick, but he continued driving and a chase involving multiple police departments ensued on Interstate 71 south, the Medina County Sheriff’s Office said. Alexander’s vehicle eventually was disabled by law enforcement devices that deflate tires, and he exited the highway at Route 18 in Medina Township.
Alexander drove the disabled vehicle into a nearby fast-food restaurant parking lot and began speaking with “several dispatch centers” by phone before he was killed, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s statement didn’t say whether Alexander was armed with a weapon, or specify what exactly prompted officers to open fire. “Multiple gunshots were fired in an officer-involved shooting” in which Alexander was involved and no officers were injured, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s statement also didn’t say whether Alexander’s daughter was in the vehicle when the shooting happened. Authorities have only said that she was found in Medina and was returned to family members later Monday. Her name has not been released.
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