Man didn’t know woman he fatally shot in restaurant drive-thru before killing himself, police say
Aug 16, 2024, 9:30 AM
STOW, Ohio (AP) — A man who got out of his car in the drive-thru lane of a fast-food restaurant in Ohio and fatally shot a woman in another vehicle before turning the gun on himself did not know the woman, police said.
A motive for the shooting may never be known, Stow police Chief Jeff Film said Thursday during a news conference.
The shooting occurred about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the northeastern Ohio town, which is a suburb of Akron. Witnesses said Megan Keleman, 25, of Stow, pulled in front of Jason Williams, 53, of Cuyahoga Falls, to get in the drive-thru line. Williams then blew his horn and struck the rear of Keleman’s vehicle, and she asked the restaurant workers to call police.
Williams got out of his car and shot Keleman, then shot himself moments later. Both were alone in their vehicles, though Keleman was traveling with her dog, who was not harmed.
The Summit County Medical Examiner has ruled Keleman’s death a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the neck and Williams’s death a suicide.
“This is a true tragedy. Not only did the Kelemans lose a daughter, but the community lost one of our daughters,” Film said. “I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to understand the motivation behind (Williams) decision-making.”
The Stow Police Department and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation are involved in the investigation. Film said the state agency is involved because Stow does not have enough homicide detectives. The last homicide in the city was five years ago.
