State joins probe into Rittman shooting that left teenager, police officer dead

State officials have joined an investigation into a shooting in Wayne County that left four people, including a teenage girl, her mother, and a Rittman police sergeant, dead.

Authorities said Rittman Police Sgt. Scott Ries was killed on Sunday evening after responding to a report of a break-in and shooting at a house on Chippewa Trail in Rittman shortly before 10 p.m. Sheriff’s deputies from Medina and Wayne counties also responded to the call.

“Upon arrival at the scene, officers came under immediate gunfire,” the Associated Press quoted Rittman Police Chief Robert Shows and the sheriffs in Wayne and Medina counties as saying in a joint statement.

According to reports, the shooting appears to be tied to a domestic dispute. Authorities believe the suspect, identified as Brandon Fazekas, 39, killed his ex-partner and her 13-year-old child before killing himself.

Four other officers were wounded, and a Wayne County Sheriff’s Office K-9, Vick, was also shot and was receiving veterinary care.

Ries, 54, was a 10-year veteran of the Rittman Police Department. He previously served as a deputy sheriff with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and as an officer with the Sugar Grove Police Department in Fairfield County.

“A career peace officer, Sgt. Ries dedicated his life to serving and protecting others. He made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting his community,” Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said in a statement. “My prayers are with his family, his fellow officers and everyone at the Rittman Police Department.”

Rittman Police requested help from the attorney general’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation to investigate the officer-involved shooting. Ries’ death was Ohio’s first line-of-duty death this year, WKYC-TV reported. Four officers were killed in the line of duty in both 2024 and 2025.

“For 10 years he wore the city’s badge and he gave his life answering a call for people he didn’t even know,” Rittman Mayor Rudy Arnold told Cleveland 19. “He stood between violence and the people he swore to protect and he did not step back.”