Man with rifle calls crisis line, then gets fatally shot

CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio – An Ohio sheriff says a man called a military veterans’ crisis line in the middle of the night and then confronted responding deputies with a rifle and was fatally shot.

Pickaway County Sheriff Robert Radcliff says the crisis line notified his office the caller had a rifle and was threatening to kill himself. Authorities have provided no details about why the man was shot.

Radcliff told The Columbus Dispatch (http://bit.ly/2aCHzv9 ) it didn’t appear the man, Ron Smith, fired during the Tuesday morning encounter outside a home northwest of Circleville.

The sheriff says the two veteran deputies who responded called for backup from neighbouring Madison County and later reported shots had been fired.

Radcliff says the Franklin County sheriff’s office is investigating. He says Smith’s wife and two children were home but were unhurt.

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This story’s headline has been corrected to show the man called a crisis line, not deputies.

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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com