COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — The security guard at an Amazon facility who died following two gun-related incidents Sunday was identified Monday as Ali Hamsa Yusuf.
According to a statement from West Jefferson police in Ohio, Yusuf was working as a security guard at the Amazon fulfillment center in Columbus. Police said he fired at least one shot at the facility Sunday afternoon, then took off before officers arrived.
About 90 minutes later, officers caught up with Yusuf near the intersection of Georgesville and Clime roads, and a shootout ensued. One Columbus police officer was struck, as was Yusuf, who died at a hospital a short time later.
The officer who was shot was released from Grant Medical Center and is expected to be OK.
Fraternal Order of Police spokesperson Brian Steel credited the officer's bulletproof vest with saving his life.
"We're talking maybe half an inch to one side or to the other ... we're in a different story right now," he said. "That officer is going home to his family and to us, the men and women of the Fraternal Order of Police."
The officer has not been identified.
Sunday's chaos began at an Amazon fulfillment center in the 6400 block of State Route 29 Northeast in West Jefferson at about 4:45 p.m. By the time officers from multiple agencies had arrived, the man, who Amazon said was a contractor assigned to the facility by a third-party partner, had left and was at large.
An employee at the fulfillment center called 911, describing the tense moments.
"He was my trainee," the caller said. "He shot at me twice but he missed. He almost executed me. He is leaving the parking lot as we speak in a car."
Police said that the man fired at least one shot that struck a CPD officer, adding that officers fired back at him.
A Columbus police dispatcher confirmed to WSYX at about 6:50 p.m. Sunday that the suspect was in critical condition at Doctors West Hospital, and then about 10 minutes later confirmed that the man had died.
No injuries were reported at Amazon, but West Jefferson Police Chief Brandon Smith said Sunday evening that "there were bullet holes on the front entry and the glass. (The shooter) didn't go any further than the front area of the building."
Multiple agencies responded to both of Sunday's scenes. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is now leading the investigation.
A witness at the Georgesville-Clime scene brought up Sunday's holiday while lamenting the violence.
"There has to be a reason why ... why?" he asked. "This is not supposed to happen on a day for mothers."
Sunday's incident marked the second straight day in Columbus that a confrontation between officers and suspects ended in death. On Saturday night, police responded to a domestic situation in east Columbus; a suspect and a victim both were killed.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Monday offered his first public reaction to the incidents.
"It’s a crime against our entire society when you shoot at police officers," he said. "They carry that badge. It’s a symbol of the authority that we give to them to keep our streets safe. There is no justification to shoot a police officer. And as we saw over the weekend, the results can be tragic in multiple different ways."
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