Pastor says Hillsboro ‘shaken’ after murder-suicide ends inside church

Credit: WCPO-TV

Credit: WCPO-TV

UPDATE @ 11 p.m. (Dec. 15):

The pastor of the Hillsboro Church of the Nazarene, where a man took his own life early Saturday after killing a woman and taking a child said the close-knit community is shaken.

“It rocks a community,” Pastor Tom Zile told our media partner, WCPO-TV. “It really does. It just shakes the foundation of who we are and what we claim to be.”

Josh McClaughlin, 37, of Hillsboro shot and killed 33-year-old Sherry Wall in her home Friday night, according to the Highland County Sheriff’s Office.

McClaughlin also took a child from Wall’s home before fleeing and then breaking into the church nearby and barricading himself inside.

Deputies found the child outside and were able to move the child to safety.

After an hourslong standoff, deputies confirmed the suspect had killed himself early Saturday morning.

Credit: WCPO-TV

Credit: WCPO-TV

FIRST REPORT

A gunman who barricaded himself inside a Hillsboro church after killing a woman in a nearby home is dead, according to the Highland County sheriff.

Deputies and the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded just after midnight Saturday to a home along U.S. 50 in Hillsboro for a report of a woman shot in the head, according to our news partner, WCPO-TV.

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Police said the gunman fled the scene, breaking into the Hillsboro Church of the Nazarene at 8230 U.S. 50 and barricading himself inside for several hours.

Authorities confirmed the suspect killed himself early Saturday morning. Officials have not released any information on the victim or suspect, WCPO reported.

U.S. 50, which had been closed while police investigated, has since reopened.

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