Year in review: The top 12 spot news stories in the Dayton region in 2023

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Here is a chronological list of the top spot news stories covered by the Dayton Daily News in 2023.

Jan. 5: Longtime Springfield butcher shot to death: ‘This hits home,’ chief says

Mario Evans ties a balloon to a fence next to Gill's Quality Meat Market Monday, Jan. 9, 2023 during a candle light vigil for local business owner Thomas Gill, who was shot and killed last Thursday while driving his SUV. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Credit: Bill Lackey

icon to expand image

Credit: Bill Lackey

A longtime Springfield business owner’s shooting death was the latest act of violence in a difficult start to the new year in Springfield.

Thomas Gill, a butcher and owner of Gill’s Quality Meat Market on Selma Road, died after he was shot in his SUV in the area of Kenton and Burt streets Thursday night as he was traveling south with a child passenger, according to police.

“This hits home,” said Springfield police Chief Allison Elliott during a news conference on Friday. “Anytime our community is dealing with a situation like this, everyone is grieving. Family members are grieving, a community is grieving.”

READ THE FULL STORY


Feb. 7: Cedarville student stabbed on campus; second student in custody

Cedarville University is a private university with 5,082 students. Contributed

Credit: Scott Huck

icon to expand image

Credit: Scott Huck

A Cedarville University student was taken to the hospital after he was stabbed on campus.

The incident happened around 8 a.m. when a male student was stabbed by a female student on the lower level of the Stevens Student Center, according to university officials.

“I need some help over here. There’s been a stabbing,” the 911 caller told dispatchers. “A young lady stabbed another student.”

The caller said the male student was bleeding after being stabbed in his chest, but that he was conscious and breathing.

READ THE FULL STORY


March 8: 5 people found dead in debris of Dayton house fire

Debris and trash are still piled up on the site of a house fire on the 500 block of North Broadway Street in West Dayton. Five people were found dead after firefighters knocked down the blaze and were working at the site. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

icon to expand image

A total of five people’s bodies were found Wednesday in the debris of a vacant North Broadway Street house that caught fire almost 15 hours earlier.

The first body was discovered after Dayton Fire Department crews extinguished the fire at the large two-story house and had begun working on an emergency demolition due to the structural instability of the building.

The fire was reported around 4 a.m. in the 500 block of North Broadway Street near West Riverview Avenue and just north of Wolf Creek.

READ THE FULL STORY


April 23: Dayton’s historic Traxler Mansion a total loss after fire days before planned auction sale

The Louis Traxler Mansion, a famed West Dayton property that is part of the National Register of Historic Places, was badly damaged by fire early Sunday morning April 23, 2023, just days before it was scheduled to be auctioned. JIM NOELKER/STAFF

Credit: JIM NOELKER

icon to expand image

Credit: JIM NOELKER

The Louis Traxler Mansion, a famed West Dayton property that is part of the National Register of Historic Places, was heavily damaged following a fire just days before it was scheduled to be auctioned.

The Dayton Fire Department said the house was likely a total loss.

Fire crews responded to the 42 Yale Ave. structure, built in 1912 at the intersection with Broadway Street, around 3 a.m. after the home was fully engulfed, according to Dayton Fire Department Lt. Mark Laugle.

READ THE FULL STORY


May 13: Child’s body recovered from river ID’d as 7-year-old Lucas Rosales

Lucas Rosales. CONTRIBUTED

icon to expand image

A child’s body recovered from the Great Miami River in downtown Dayton was confirmed to be the 7-year-old boy who went missing more than two weeks ago while fishing.

Lucas Emmanuel Rosales was described as “a vibrant and cherished little boy” whose “infectious laughter, bright smile and loving nature touched the lives of all who knew him,” according to his obituary.

Lucas, a Dayton Public Schools student, was reported missing April 29 after he was last seen around 6:48 p.m. while fishing with his family near Harshman Road and Eastwood MetroPark in Dayton.

READ THE FULL STORY


May 18: 1 dead, 2 injured at DMAX plant after reported active shooter situation in Moraine

A large police force responded to the DMAX plant in Moraine Thursday night, May 18, 2023, after a report of an active shooter. Police found one worker shot dead inside and another injured by gunfire. The shooting suspect was found critically injured outside with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, police said. JEREMY P. KELLEY/STAFF

Credit: Jeremy P. Kelley

icon to expand image

Credit: Jeremy P. Kelley

One person was killed and the suspect and one other person went to the hospital after a reported active shooter situation at the DMAX plant at 3100 Dryden Road in Moraine.

According to Sgt. Andrew Parish, police and fire were called to the DMAX plant just before 9 p.m., and were quickly able to find that the active threat was over.

On investigation, Parish said, a man entered the plant and shot and killed another man inside. A second person also suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and a few other people suffered injures unrelated to the shooting, he said.

READ THE FULL STORY


July 29: Helicopter pilot killed in crash after clipping wires near I-70

Emergency personnel on standby on East Possum Road after a helicopter crashed in a cornfield near I-70. MARSHALL GORBY/STAFF

icon to expand image

A helicopter pilot was killed in a crash into a cornfield after clipping power lines near Interstate 70.

Traffic on the interstate was brought to a standstill after multiple crashes caused all lanes to be blocked. Those crashes were caused by the power lines going down and drivers seeking to avoid them, according to the Springfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

OSHP said those crashes were near Ohio 41.

The helicopter was found in a cornfield on East Possum Road, where law enforcement, medical emergency professionals and the Clark County coroner responded.

READ THE FULL STORY


Aug. 2: 2 dead after suspects, troopers exchange gunfire; chase, hostage situation ends in Montgomery County

A member of BCI looks over a semi that was highjacked from London and stopped near the Dayton Airport early Wednesday morning Aug. 2, 2023. One of two suspects involved in the multi-county chase and hours-long hostage situation has died after being shot by troopers. MARSHALL GORBY\STAFF

icon to expand image

Two people were killed following a 50-mile, multi-county police chase on I-70 that ended in a hostage situation where gunfire was exchanged with Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers near the Dayton International Airport.

A man and woman fled from police near London, Ohio after kidnapping a man and the semi truck he was parked in at a gas station.

The incident ended after troopers approached the semi truck on Dayton International Airport Access Road in an attempt to remove the hostage from the vehicle and gunfire erupted.

READ THE FULL STORY


Aug. 22: Northwestern school bus crash kills 1 student, injures dozens

A Northwestern School District bus is uprighted by a crane after it was involved in a crash with another vehicle and rolled over. Twenty three children were transported to the hospital after the crash and one child was killed when they were ejected. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Credit: Bill Lackey

icon to expand image

Credit: Bill Lackey

A student died and dozens of others were injured, including one with serious injuries, after an elementary school bus for Northwestern Local Schools overturned in a crash involving an oncoming vehicle.

There were 52 students on the elementary school bus heading to school for the first day of classes.

Twenty-three students were transported to area hospitals, including 10 who were transported in personal vehicles by family members.

READ THE FULL STORY


Oct. 5: Dayton police recruit seriously injured after pickup hits cruiser

Dayton police cruisers line up in front of Miami Valley Hospital after a police recruit was seriously injured Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, when a pickup truck crashed into a cruiser during a training exercise on state Route 4. A Dayton police supervisor and two other recruits also were injured in the crash. JIM NOELKER/STAFF

Credit: Jim Noelker

icon to expand image

Credit: Jim Noelker

Dayton police lined up cruisers outside Miami Valley Hospital on Thursday afternoon to stand vigil after the crash during a training exercise on state Route 4.

Chief Kamran Afzal said a Dayton police supervisor and three police recruits were on the right shoulder of state Route 4 at approximately 2:40 p.m. between the exits for Stanley Avenue and Harshman Road when a pickup truck crashed into the back of the sport-utility cruiser.

“The three police recruits suffered injuries as a result of the crash, one of which is considered serious,” Afzal said.

The recruits and supervisor were conducting traffic enforcement laser training. The recruit who was seriously injured was outside the cruiser at the time of the crash, the chief said.

READ THE FULL STORY


Oct. 26: Suspect dies from apparent self-inflicted gunshot after Clayton officer shot while serving warrant

Multiple SWAT and police crews were on the scene of an investigation on Hacker Road in Clayton on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Dayton and Trotwood police, as well as the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office were among crews on the scene. MARSHALL GORBY / STAFF

icon to expand image

A Clayton police officer was shot while trying to arrest a person on a warrant, leading to a SWAT standoff during which the suspect died by an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.

Officers were attempting to find a person with a warrant around 1:45 p.m. in the 300 block of Hacker Road. When they arrived at the house, the suspect ran inside and to the second story, Clayton police Chief Matthew Hamlin said.

“They went upstairs to try to make contact with him,” he said. “Once they got upstairs the subject started shooting.”

The Clayton officer was shot in the arm and taken to Miami Valley Hospital and treated.

READ THE FULL STORY


Nov. 20: Beavercreek Walmart shooting injures 4 before shooter takes own life

A 20-year-old Dayton man shot and injured four people at the Beavercreek Walmart on Monday night before dying of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Beavercreek police Capt. Chad Lindsey identified the gunman as Benjamin Charles Jones during a press conference.

All of the victims were shoppers at Walmart. They were located throughout the store and weren’t in one location, Capt. Scott Molnar said. None were killed.

READ THE FULL STORY