Winnie-Marie Dortch, a reporter for Cleveland’s WOIO Channel 19 News, is recovering from surgery after a man shot her before turning a gun on himself.
Police said the shooting is an apparent domestic incident.
On Monday, around 7:54 a.m., Lakewood police received 911 calls that two people were arguing outside a preschool in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood, Ohio.
Before officers arrived on the scene, the 911 callers told Lakewood dispatchers they heard gunshots go off.
Police found Dortch with at least one “serious” gunshot wound, and a man who was dead at the scene. The man was later identified as 34-year-old Bryant Carter.
Lakewood Police Captain Gary Stone told local NBC affiliate station WKYC Studios as well as ABC affiliate News 5 Cleveland that they believe Carter killed himself after shooting Dortch.
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Friends on Facebook/META said Carter frequently watched Dortch on the news before they met and began dating.
WKYC reported that a priest from nearby St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church confirmed that they were both members of the Clifton Early Learning Center community. He said the school closed for the day following the shooting.
Dortch’s 4-year-old daughter attended the Clifton Early Learning Center in Lakewood.
Dortch and her daughter were moving to Chicago, where she had accepted her “dream job.”
“It’s a tragedy,” Father Kevin Elbert told the outlet of the shooting. “This is so close to home. This is a tragic event. Any loss of life is a tragic event, especially in a place that’s holy ground.”
