Canal Winchester schools closed after shots fired at deputies near high school

Canal Winchester Local Schools were closed for the day Friday after shots were fired at sheriff's deputies near the high school.

According to the Fairfield County Sheriff's office, dispatchers received a call at 5:48 a.m. Friday of reports of a truck vandalizing grass by driving doughnuts on Dietz Drive near the high school on Washington Street. As deputies arrived at the scene, the suspect drove onto the high school's softball field, damaging the field before getting out of the vehicle and fleeing on foot.

As deputies approached the truck and began searching for the suspect, they heard multiple gunshots fired in their direction. Deputies closed the area off and began to search for the suspect.

The district closed all schools for the day, as opposed to just the high school, because of the active search for an "armed and dangerous" suspect and the location of the search in an area where kids of all grade levels would be walking to bus stops.

Later Friday morning, the city of Canal Winchester tweeted that the police had a suspect in custody. The sheriff's office confirmed a suspect was in custody but as of 2:30 p.m. Friday had not released information about the arrest.

The district's website and social media posts state that the incident did not involve students.

In an email, a Canal Winchester Schools spokesperson wrote that suspect ran their truck into the metal bleachers of the softball field, but said the damage to school property was minimal.

MYLee@dispatch.com

@leem386

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Canal Winchester schools closed Friday after shots fired at deputies