The Yellow Springs police chief has responded to residents concerned about a March 14 fatal shooting, and how and when the public was notified about a search for the suspect.
The shooting happened in the 600 block of South High Street on March 14.
A victim — described as an elderly woman — was found dead. A homicide investigation is now underway with assistance from the state Bureau of Criminal Investigations. Yellow Springs police have declined to identify her or release more details about her death.
At a March 18 news conference, officials said the decision issue a public alert came on Sunday and close schools on Monday came after a 911 call at 6:15 p.m. March 19.
Yellow Springs Police Chief Paige Burge was asked why the alert wasn’t issued sooner.
“Hindsight is 20/20," Burge said. "If we were able to know what we would have known on Sunday, I would have absolutely been able to give that notice. However, again, we believed that this was an isolated incident specific to what occurred on Thursday. So we did not believe there was a threat to public safety."
Police were able to identify a suspect in both incidents, who is now being held in Greene County Jail on a $1 million bond