NEWS RELEASE:

MARION — At 4:46 PM on July 3rd, 2018, MPD officers responded to the area of Bain Avenue between S. High and S. State Streets for a reported shooting. Upon arrival, Officers discovered that a female suspect had sustained gunshot wounds after being fired upon several times while sitting inside of a vehicle. The victim was wounded but it is believed that her injuries are not life threatening.

Information was received indicating that the male suspect involved in the shooting was a Matthew W. Lust, age 33 of Bucyrus. Lust was said to be an estranged boyfriend of the victim, and it was believed he may be headed to an address in the 500 block of Patterson Street to cause harm to a male subject at that location. An MPD Officer and an MCSO Deputy arrived at that location at 5:18 PM with the intention of alerting the male subject of a potential threat of violence by Lust.

Upon arrival, the Officer and Deputy encountered a male subject at the front of the Patterson Street location which matched the description provided of Lust following the Bain Avenue shooting. In the initial interaction with law enforcement, Lust presented a firearm which resulted in an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and the two law enforcement officers. Lust was struck and wounded in that exchange. Both the Officer and the Deputy were unharmed. Lust was secured and transported to Marion General Hospital and subsequently flown by MedFlight to a Columbus area medical facility. An involved firearm was recovered from the scene of the shooting. At the time of this press release, the condition of the suspect Lust is unknown.

Numerous Marion PD, Marion County Sheriff’s Office and OSHP personnel were on scene in the moments following the exchange of gunfire and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was called to the scene to assume the lead role in the investigation of the officer involved shooting incident. The MPD Officer and the MCSO Deputy have both been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, consistent with the policies of both agencies for officer-involved shootings.

This investigation is still in the very early stages and it is expected that additional details will be released in the coming days as this investigation unfolds.