“Once officers got there, they realized it was not a crash,” said Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns. “There was actually a victim, an 18-year-old male, who had passed away from a gunshot wound to the chest.”
The man was transported to Miami Valley Hospital, where he was formally pronounced dead. Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger identified the man as King Robert Ogburn.
An investigation determined several vehicles were traveling west on U.S. 35 Thursday morning when a suspect vehicle pulled up alongside them near Steve Whalen Boulevard and shot at the vehicles.
People inside two vehicles were struck, Johns said. A third vehicle and the suspect vehicle both left the scene.
Ogburn was driving when he was shot and he then crashed into the median. A passenger in his vehicle was also struck, according to police.
Another person was injured by gunfire in the second vehicle.
Investigators believe the shooting was a targeted act, Johns said.
“We don’t believe it’s road rage; we don’t believe it’s a random act,” he said. “We believe there is some sort of underlying cause that we’re trying to figure out now.”
The major noted the suspect vehicle had to catch up to the three vehicles and there were several other vehicles on the road that weren’t targeted.
Detectives are using surveillance video from various entities, including the Ohio Department of Transportation and City of Dayton, but are still asking anyone with information to call Dayton police at 937-333-COPS (2677) or Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at 937-222-STOP (7867).
Anyone who was on U.S. 35 West around 12:45 to 1 a.m. near Steve Whalen Boulevard and may have seen a suspicious vehicle should also reach out to investigators.
Police are specifically looking for information on the vehicle’s color, make, model and license plate number.
“We do have evidence in this case, but it also helps when people come forward and share information about what happened,” Johns said.
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