Photo: Montgomery County Jail
Authorities in Ohio are searching for a "person of interest" connected to four fatal shootings in Butler Township on Friday (August 5). Officers received reports of shots fired around 11:30 a.m. and found four victims with gunshot wounds across multiple crime scenes.
All four victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
Butler Township Chief John Porter said that Stephen Marlow, 39, was seen fleeing the area in a white 2007 Ford Edge SUV with Ohio license plate JES9806. He is described as a 5-foot-11, 160-pound white male with brown hair. He was last seen wearing shorts and a yellow t-shirt.
Marlow has ties to Chicago, Indianapolis, and Lexington, and the FBI said he may have fled to one of those cities.
Investigators did not say if the victims were related and are still working to determine a motive for the killings.
"This is the first violent crime in this neighborhood in recent memory," Porter said. "We are working to determine if there was any motive to this horrible tragedy or if mental illness played any role."
News of the shootings has left neighbors shocked and angry. Wendy Chapman, who was a neighbor of one of the victims, told WKEF that she's "pissed" and "feels violated."
"I would have never, even in this neighborhood, I would never expect anything, never," Chapman said.