GUNMEN AT LARGE

MANHUNT ON AFTER WILMINGTON SHOOTOUT

Wilmington resident Frank Marsden was wounded in the shoulder during the gunfight between police and the suspects. He was treated at Clinton Memorial Hospital and released.

The incident began about 1:30 p.m. in front of the Krispy Kreme doughnut shop on Ohio 73 in Wilmington. Police stopped two white males in a blue Chevrolet Suburban on a routine traffic stop for a registration violation.

"The driver resisted a police patdown and fled back toward the vehicle," said Lt. Col. Kenneth Marshall of the Ohio Highway Patrol. The driver then fired several rounds at the officers with a handgun and jumped into the vehicle.

Wilmington resident Dustin Miller was across the street when he heard the gunfire. "I saw a cop running toward the blue Suburban; the driver side door was open. (The police officer) stuck the gun in the door and the Suburban took off," Miller said.

One suspect drove away and one ran from the vehicle, according to Miller. "The cop fired a shot at the Suburban when it took off," he said.

The shooting resumed a few minutes later on U.S. 22 near Nelson Avenue.

An officer spotted the Suburban in a parking lot, and was immediately fired upon by the driver. The driver fled the scene on foot with a rifle. Marsden was wounded during that exchange of gunfire. Marsden is believed to have been shot by the suspect.

"I heard a couple of dozen semi-automatic shots. I saw a guy shooting at the cops," Marsden said.

"The guy was shooting wild."

Wilmington police, the State Highway Patrol and Clinton County Sheriff's Office became involved in a search for the suspects over a three to four mile radius in western Wilmington. Both suspects are on foot and believed to be armed.

Authorities are cautioning Wilmington residents and warning them not to pick up any hitchhikers. The search is expected to continue through the night with more than 70 officers involved.

The suspects are described as one white male with a goatee last seen wearing a long green coat and baseball-style hat and carrying a rifle. The other suspect is a white male last seen wearing a gray-plaid coat, blue jeans and carrying a semi-automatic hand gun.

CREDIT: JIM WITMER/DAYTON DAILY NEWS

(#2) (Map) Shooting site (COLOR)

(#3) Left: Frank Marsden was shot through the window of a pickup truck he was driving in Wilmington on Saturday. (COLOR)

CREDIT: JIM WITMER/DAYTON DAILY NEWS

(#4) An Ohio Highway Patrol officer and Wilmington police officer view the scene of the shooting in Wilmington on Saturday. (B&W)

CREDIT: TY GREENLEES/DAYTON DAILY NEWS

Staff writer Mike Wagner contributed to this report.