Woman who works near nursing home heard gunshots

Inside the nursing home, two employees were found dead, as well as the suspected gunman, Thorp said. Disario was shot at by the suspect immediately upon entering the nursing home.

Steven Eric DiSario, 36, was killed as he responded to a shooting in Kirkersville, Ohio, Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp said on Friday.

Disario, a father of six who was expecting another child, had only been police chief for around three weeks, Thorp said. The whole shooting occurred within a matter of minutes, police said. I thought it was a tire blown out, ' Rogers said.

"It's just a tragic event", Mr Thorp said, adding that Disario had been responding to reports of a man with a gun when he was shot around 08:00 local time.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said the accused shooter took two hostages in an alley, but both were released unharmed.

During the shooting, some of the nursing home residents barricaded themselves in rooms and sheltered in place. No nursing home residents were injured, nor were two hostages briefly held by the alleged gunman.

The shooting closed down the main street of the small village comprised of only about 500 people, as residents flocked to the Kirkersville Police Station to contribute to a makeshift memorial for DiSario.

The village is about 25 miles (39 kilometers) east of Columbus.

Kasich, who called the murders a "senseless act of violence", also ordered American flags to be flown at "half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout Licking County and the Ohio Statehouse" through May 16.

Southwest Licking Schools confirm that Kirkersville Elementary is under lockdown. A heavy police presence is still located at the school. According to NBC4 reporter Dan Pearlman, all students who attend classes there have been safely moved to Watkins Middle Schools. Parents should NOT head to the elementary school.

One of the vehicles searched was at a nearby gas station in Kirkersville in central Ohio.