Michael Hance

Overview

Michael Hance, 51, was shot and killed by the police on August 7, 2011, after he conducted a shooting spree in Copley Township, Summit County, Ohio. Seven people were shot dead, and another person was shot and survived.

Timeline

• August 2, 2011 — Michael Hance purchased a .45 caliber handgun from Sydmor's Jewelry in Barberton.
• August 4 or August 5, 2011 — Michael Hance visited The Marksman on Barber Road for instruction on how to use the .45 caliber handgun; investigators said he brought the handgun with him.
• August 7, 2011 (about 11 a.m.) — The shooting spree began just before 11 a.m. at a house in the 2300 block of Goodenough Avenue.
• August 7, 2011 (later the same day) — Police surrounded Hance as he left a house; Hance did not comply with verbal commands, opened fire on officers, and was shot and killed.
• September 21, 2011 — The Summit County Prosecutor cleared Officer Ben Campbell and Keith Lavery of wrongdoing related to their use of deadly force during the incident.
• August 8, 2011 — Police identified Michael E. Hance, 51, as the suspect behind the shooting rampage.
• August 9, 2011 — Neighbors described Hance as eccentric and helpful prior to the shootings.

The offence

The shooting spree occurred in Copley Township, Summit County, Ohio, with multiple victims killed across four different crime scenes.

Hance used two handguns, including a Hi-Point .45 ACP and a .357 Magnum six-shot revolver. Investigators said the .45 caliber handgun had been purchased on August 2 from Sydmor's Jewelry in Barberton, and that Hance bought a .357 Magnum six-shot revolver from the same location in 2005.

Victims and killings

Hance shot his girlfriend, Rebecca K. Dieter, 49, at about 11 a.m. She was the only victim who survived.

Hance was also alleged to have shot and killed:

• Autumn Johnson, 16
• Russell Johnson, 67
• Gudrun “Gerdie” Johnson, 64
• Craig Dieter, 51
• Amelia Shambaugh, 16
• Bryan Johnson, 44
• Scott Dieter, 11

The record stated that the spree left seven people dead and wounded another. It also described additional details about where victims were shot, including that Hance chased Bryan Johnson northward into a nearby driveway, and that Hance followed 11-year-old Scott Dieter into a neighboring house where he was shot and killed.

Crime-scene sequence described by police chief

Copley Township Police Chief Michael Mier spelled out a chain of events that included:

1. The gunman shot his girlfriend.
2. The gunman ran to an adjacent house, confronted the girlfriend’s brother, and shot the brother and four bystanders at that home.
3. The gunman chased two more bystanders through backyards, shooting one of them outside a house on Schocalog; the house was where two other people were hiding.
4. The gunman entered the home and shot one person and left.
5. The gunman shot at a police officer and another citizen, and the gunman was shot and killed by the officer.

Investigation

Investigators said the initial 911 calls were reports of a person running through the neighborhood firing a gun and “moving quickly about the area.” It later became clear that several people had been shot.

A timeline of the shootings was described based on several witness interviews and 911 calls. Investigators said it appeared Craig Dieter, 51, was shot and killed first, followed by Russell Johnson, 67, and then his wife Gudrun. Next, investigators said Hance shot and killed Autumn Johnson, 16, and her friend Amelia Shambaugh, who was also 16. Investigators then said Hance chased and gunned down Bryan Johnson, 44. After that, they said Hance shot Rebecca Dieter once or twice in the back. Finally, investigators said Hance killed Scott Dieter, 11, who was hiding in a neighbor’s basement.

Police continued to search for motive and stated they were still trying to figure out what prompted the incident. Investigators searched Rebecca Dieter’s home and found rambling notes written by Hance; in some notes, he seemed obsessed with cancer. Lt. Luke Marchmon said:

“In his own way, he was trying to research and to find methods to help cure cancer”

Lt. Marchmon also said:

“Trying to get into his mind is just very, very difficult”

Investigators believed Hance had a delusional disorder, but that he was never treated. Detectives spoke with his relatives, who suggested he get help for depression, but he refused and insisted he could rely on herbal remedies. Lt. Marchmon also asked:

“Who does that because they have a dispute with a neighbor or they're upset with a neighbor?”

Arrest and killing by police

Copley Township police officer Ben Campbell killed Michael Hance after Hance opened fire on officers. The record stated that police issued some commands as Hance was leaving a house, that he did not obey or go along with the commands, and that he opened fire on the officers; police fired back and shot Hance.

Copley Township Police Chief Michael Mier said:

“The suspect did not obey or go along with the commands, and the suspect was shot,”

Trial / sentencing / appeals

No trial, sentencing, or appeals were described in the provided material.

Aftermath

Cleared of wrongdoing

On September 21, 2011, the Summit County Prosecutor cleared Officer Ben Campbell and cleared Keith Lavery, a neighbor and retired police officer, of wrongdoing. Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh concluded that Campbell did not violate any state or federal laws and had reason to believe Hance posed an immediate threat to himself and others. She said:

“The U.S. Supreme court has affirmed that police officers have a constitutional right to use deadly force when they think a suspect will cause serious physical harm to another person,”

Walsh also said:

“Officer Campbell had a reasonable and justifiable belief that Hance would continue to shoot at people after Hance shot eight people and then refused to comply with police officers' verbal commands to drop his weapon and surrender.”

Scene handling and community response

After obtaining a search warrant, police broke a window on the side door at the Minota home owned by Hance’s girlfriend, Becky Dieter, and shared by the couple. Officers seized at least one computer and some type of writing Hance had been working on. Officers stayed until about 6 p.m. and left, boarding up the house behind them.

Residents held a candlelight vigil Sunday evening, according to a CNN affiliate. Grief counselors were to be on hand at Copley-Fairlawn High School in the auxiliary gym beginning at 11 a.m.; the record stated that two victims were students at Copley-Fairlawn High School, and superintendent Brian Poe confirmed this.

A bench honoring victims of the Copley shootings was mentioned.

Comments from community members

“No words can adequately express the loss experienced by the families of the victims and the community at large,”

He described the community as having a very low violent crime rate.

A neighbor quoted in the material said:

“The killer's gone. We'll never know,”

Another neighbor, Patricia Kirby, told NewsChannel5 that her brother lived next door, and after hearing shots he and his son ran to the house and pounded on the door unsuccessfully tried to rescue their neighbors inside.

Lt. Luke Marchmon said:

“Obviously, he was on a mission to destroy those two families,”

Other details

Location of incident

The incident occurred in the area of Schocalog Road and Goodenough Avenue in Copley Township. The shooting spree started just before 11 a.m. The sequence described included shots at or near Schocalog.

Armament and sourcing

The record described Hance using two handguns, including a Hi-Point .45 ACP. It also described that he bought a .357 Magnum six-shot revolver from a pawn shop in 2005 and bought the Hi-Point .45 ACP from a pawn shop five days before the spree. Investigators also said the .45 caliber handgun he brought to the firing range was purchased on August 2 from Sydmor's Jewelry in Barberton.

Pre-incident behavior and interactions with police

The material said Hance was eccentric and had compulsions that may have hinted at mental illness. Neighbors described him placing a kayak in the driveway and pretending to paddle, stocking up on herbs and roots from a local health food store and making concoctions, repeatedly digging up his yard with a Rototiller, and carrying stacks of books and being ready to lecture on topics he was fixated on.

The record stated that Hance had no criminal record. It said Akron police were called in late May 2009 to the home on Minota for some sort of crisis intervention for a man with apparent mental health issues, but no report was made. It also said that Hance’s only other documented interaction with police occurred in 1997 in Akron, where he confronted an intoxicated neighbor who messed with his truck and told police the man threatened him with a gun.

Employment, family, and neighborhood context

The record stated that Hance was unemployed after he lost his job when a copy store in Akron closed. It said he helped care for Dieter’s ailing father, who had dementia, and that he had helped with caregiving for Dieter’s parents.

It stated Hance’s parents both died in 2006 and their small estate was split evenly between Hance and a sister, who lived in Mogadore.

The record described a tense relationship between Hance and next-door neighbors Russell and Gudrun “Gerdie” Johnson, including complaints about disrepair at the Dieters’ house and the odd hours of the night that Hance was up working loudly on his truck.

It also described disagreements Hance had with the Johnson family dating back at least one year: one instance involved the family asking Hance to stop using a rototiller at midnight, and another involved Hance becoming angry when a child shot a BB gun near the home where Hance was living with his girlfriend.

Police and commands during the incident

As Hance was leaving the house, police surrounded him and issued some commands. The record stated that he did not obey or go along with the commands, and opened fire on the officers.

Hospitalization

The record stated that Rebecca Dieter was at a local hospital and later that she remained in Akron City Hospital, with police having been unable to question her. It also said she was in the intensive care unit at Akron General Hospital.