NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio — Two people are dead after a shooting at the North Olmsted Giant Eagle.
Police were called to the store for shots fired Sunday morning at 9:35 a.m. Officers responded to the scene in less than a minute, with the department located directly across the street from the grocery store.
Upon arriving at the scene, officers found two individuals with gunshot wounds, both deceased.
According to police, 60-year-old Bernard Smith fatally shot 63-year-old Susan Petterson while she was at work at Giant Eagle Sunday morning before also killing himself.
Bernard and Petterson were married and divorced in 2004, and police believe their strained relationship played into this incident.
"These two were married at one time and then divorced in 2004. We don't believe it was a very amicable divorce and potentially what may have led up to this," said North Olmsted Police Chief Bob Wagner.
Petterson, an Olmsted Township resident, has worked at the North Olmsted Giant Eagle for 3 years and 8 months.
Police are investigating the incident as a murder-suicide but are still working to learn more about the fatal shooting.
There were 67 employees working and approximately 200 customers in the store at the time of the incident. The Giant Eagle remained closed on Monday, according to a News 5 journalist at the store location, with employees telling customers it will reopen on Tuesday morning at 6 a.m.
News 5 News Director Jodie Heisner was at the scene shortly after the incident occurred and witnessed Giant Eagle employees and customers being escorted from the store to a nearby parking lot. The employees were visibly shaken.
Witnesses said that they heard multiple gunshots inside the store near the cash register.
"I was just shopping all of a sudden heard one pop, and I was like, 'I don't know if that was a pallet or something,' but then I heard two, three, four pops, and I was like 'No this place is getting shot up," said Sammy Assaf, a customer at the time of the shooting.
Another woman, who preferred to remain anonymous but was inside the store when the shooting happened, said her first instinct was to run.
"There was a fire exit door right in the back, and we just ran. I didn't think about taking anything; I just ran," she said. "My first thought was, I got to get out of here; I'm going to die."
The North Olmsted police department gave a briefing on the incident at 2:30 p.m:
The Giant Eagle is located at 27264 Lorain Road.
Giant Eagle provided the following statement in regard to the incident:
We are shocked and deeply saddened that such a senseless act of violence occurred in one of our stores. Our top priority remains the safety of our Team Members and our Guests. We are grateful for the quick response of local authorities and are committed to providing all available resources to law enforcement to assist in their ongoing investigation. Our thoughts and hearts are with all of those affected by this terrible tragedy.
North Olmsted Mayor Nicole Dailey Jones provided the following statement:
I am deeply saddened about the events which took place this morning at the North Olmsted Giant Eagle supermarket. First and foremost, my heart goes out to the victim of this tragedy and her family and friends. I know all North Olmsted residents join me in sending their prayers and support to them. We also remember the employees and customers who were in the store at the time of this terrible incident.
Giant Eagle has been a pillar in our community for many years.
Joining me at a press conference earlier today were Bill Artman, President and CEO of Giant Eagle, North Olmsted Director of Public Safety Jennifer Scofield, Police Chief Bob Wagner, Captain Matt Peters of the North Olmsted Fire Department and Ward 1 Councilman Chris Scarl, where Giant Eagle is located.
At this time, it appears that this incident was a murder-suicide and is being investigated as such. I am very proud of our safety forces and their incredibly quick response time. They did an amazing job and are true professionals.
Our safety forces completed the latest available training for this type of situation earlier this year. I also want to thank our neighboring cities for their assistance and for providing mutual aid.
As police continue to investigate the situation, the community is trying to wrap their heads around the situation.
"When I heard this, I was like nothing like this ever happens in our neighborhood," said Matt Polito, a North Olmsted resident. "We don't have things like this too often, but today we live in a different world. You never know. You could go get milk or a loaf of bread, and next thing you know, you could be shot dead."
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