CANTON, Ohio — A gunman is at large after police say he fatally shot a waitress during a "domestic incident" inside a Bob Evans Restaurant in Canton on Friday, Canton Police Chief Jack Angelo confirmed.
The waitress, identified as 38-year-old Rebecca Jean Rogers of Canton, died from her injuries after she was taken to Mercy Hospital.
The shooting happened at around 9:30 a.m. ET inside the restaurant located at 3400 Lesh Street Northeast.
Multiple calls came in for an active shooter. Within two minutes of receiving the calls, multiple departments including the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Canton Police Department, and the Stark County Sherriff's Office arrived at the restaurant.
Preliminary information revealed Rogers saw the suspected shooter, later identified as 54-year-old Richard James Nelson, 54, come in with a gun, so she ran down the hallway of the restaurant where she was shot.
Police estimate there were between six to eight employees inside and approximately six to eight patrons inside at the time of the shooting.
Angelo said the shooting is considered a "domestic incident" between a girlfriend and a boyfriend.
Crisis counselors were brought in to talk to patrons and employees who witnessed the shooting.
Nelson is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached. He is wanted on a warrant for aggravated murder.
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 immediately.
This story was originally published by Kaylyn Hlavaty and Bob Jones on WEWS in Cleveland.
