FAYETTE COUNTY, Ohio — A man wanted in connection with a Miami County shooting is dead after taking his own life along Route 35 on June 29.
Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth reported that around 3 AM on June 29, his office received information about a shooting suspect from Miami County who might be traveling through Fayette County. Deputies located the suspect’s vehicle, a Toyota Tundra, on Route 35 at the Fayette/Greene County line. When law enforcement attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver refused to pull over and continued driving.
The vehicle eventually came to a stop, but the driver did not respond to deputies’ attempts to communicate via loudspeaker. The Ohio Highway Patrol dispatched a helicopter to assist in the standoff. According to a law enforcement statement, the helicopter pilot was able to hover close enough to the vehicle to see the driver slumped over inside.
Troopers and deputies approached the vehicle and discovered that the driver, identified as 52-year-old Douglas Smith of Troy, Ohio, had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The incident remains under investigation.