CELINA — A Celina man was shot to death early Sunday after pointing a gun at a trooper from the Wapakoneta post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and ordering him out of his vehicle, according to a news release from the State Patrol.
The gunshot victim was identified by police as 22-year-old Justin D. McHenry. The trooper’s name will likely be released within the next two days, an official with the Wapakoneta post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said.
The trooper reported that at about 1:30 a.m. he was working on paperwork from a previous incident in his patrol car that was parked on Main Street near Livingston Street. McHenry parked his 1991 Chevrolet S-10 across the street and approached the trooper’s car on foot.
According to the report, the man immediately became confrontational with the trooper, ordering him out of his vehicle. Shortly after the trooper exited the vehicle, the man brandished a 9 mm handgun and pointed it at the trooper. The trooper attempted to disarm the man, but he was unsuccessful. The trooper said he broke contact with McHenry and shots were fired. McHenry was struck by rounds from the trooper’s handgun, patrol officials reported.
Once the man was secured, the trooper and officers from the Celina Police Department, who responded after hearing the shots, rendered first aid until emergency medical service units arrived. McHenry was taken by Celina Fire and EMS to Mercer County Community Hospital in Coldwater and later flown by helicopter to St. Rita’s Medical Center, where he later died. The trooper was not injured.
According to Celina Municipal Court records, this was not McHenry’s first run-in with the State Patrol. On Sept. 7, 2014, McHenry was charged with operating a vehicle under the influence. He pleaded no contest to the charge and was found guilty. He was also found guilty in 2012 for drunken driving. Both cases involved a state trooper.
Coldwater police arrested McHenry for assault and underage drinking in 2013, online court records show.
The trooper involved in Sunday’s fatal shooting had no known previous contact with McHenry, and it is unclear why McHenry approached the trooper, patrol officials said.
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