An Ohio police officer has died after a gunman opened fire in what authorities are calling an ambush attack that also left two other officers injured.
The shooting happened Wednesday afternoon in Lorain, Ohio, at the end of River Bend Drive, an undeveloped industrial area.
Police identified the officer as Phillip Wagner, 35, a three-year member of the Lorain Police Department and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
Highlights
- Officer Phillip Wagner, 35, died after an ambush shooting in Lorain, Ohio, which also injured two other officers.
- Suspect Michael Parker, 28, was killed after opening fire with multiple weapons and having explosives in his vehicle.
- Wagner and another officer were ambushed while eating lunch in their patrol cars; the motive remains under investigation.
Ohio police officer Philip Wagner died after an ambush attack
Image credits: Amherst Police Department
He was critically injured in the shooting and died in hospital on Thursday morning.
Two other officers, Peter Gale, 51, and Brent Payne, 47, were also shot.
Gale was treated for a hand injury and released, while Payne remains in the hospital recovering from surgery. He was shot by the suspect multiple times.
Image credits: Lorain Police Department
The suspected gunman, identified as 28-year-old Michael Parker, was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police.
“He was laying in wait and opened fire with multiple rounds at both of the officers who were sitting in their vehicles,” Acting Lorain Police Chief Michael Failing said.
Wagner and Gale had been eating lunch in their patrol cars when the shooting began. Payne was shot after arriving at the scene to assist.
Authorities say Parker was parked at the dead end and had an “arsenal of weapons with him.” These included several rifles, handguns, and large amounts of ammunition.
Image credits: Elyria Police Department
Police also found improvised explosive materials in his vehicle. These were safely detonated by the Lorain County Bomb Squad.
There is no indication that any other suspects were involved. A motive for the shooting remains under investigation, the Elyria Police Department said Thursday.
"Officer Wagner's life and service to our city will never be forgotten," Failing said in a statement.
"Our department mourns the loss of a true hero and stands in unwavering support of Officer Wagner's family, friends, and fellow officers during this heartbreaking time."
Governor Mike DeWine expressed his condolences and called the shooting a targeted attack on law enforcement.
"This situation reminds us that those who work in law enforcement risk their lives every day for the safety of their communities," he said in a statement on social media. "We are so very grateful for the men and women who willingly and bravely serve and protect."
Wagner joined the Lorain Police Department in 2022 after serving four years with the Sheffield Village Police Department. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Image credits: Amherst Police Department
According to the Fraternal Order of Police's monthly update, 166 officers have been shot in the line of duty so far in 2025.
This includes 36 "ambush-style attacks" on officers, resulting in 45 being shot and eight being killed.
In 2024, the National Fraternal Order of Police reported that 342 officers were shot in the line of duty in 2024, with 50 killed by gunfire. Ten of these officers were shot in Ohio.
Statistics show that ambush attacks have been steadily increasing in recent years, along with general violence against police officers.
Eight police officers have lost their lives in ambush attacks in the U.S. so far in 2025
Image credits: Google Maps
According to the National Police Association, officers murdered in the line of duty are increasingly likely to have been ambushed.
“There is an overall climate now that is very anti-police, which adds a different angle to what used to happen periodically to police in the past years,” Maria Haberfeld, chair of the Department of Law, Police Sciences, and Criminal Justice Administration at John Jay College, told CNN.
“The anti-police climate would surge after a high-profile case, and usually after a month or so it would subside. But right now, we’re talking about over a year of high-profile, anti-police coverage.” Officer survival rates in the entrapment ambush are about 40%, with a slightly better hope of survival of 49% for spontaneous attacks.