COLUMBUS, OH — July 25, 2025 — Governor Mike DeWine has ordered all U.S. and Ohio flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of Lorain Police Officer Phillip Wagner, who died following a targeted ambush that shook the community earlier this week.
Flags will be lowered on all public buildings and grounds throughout Lorain County, as well as at the Ohio Statehouse, Vern Riffe Center, and Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus. The order will remain in effect until sunset on the day of Officer Wagner’s funeral. Other state buildings may lower flags at their discretion during this period.
The order follows the tragic events that unfolded around 1 p.m. Wednesday on River Bend Drive, a quiet cul-de-sac off Colorado Avenue in Lorain. Officers Phillip Wagner and Peter Gale were sitting in their patrol cars during a lunch break when a gunman armed with multiple weapons opened fire in what authorities have called a “deliberate and planned ambush.”
The attack left Officer Wagner and another officer, Officer Payne, critically injured. Both were life flighted to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. Officer Gale sustained a gunshot wound to his hand and was treated at Mercy Health – Lorain Hospital.
According to Elyria Police Chief James Welsh, whose department is leading the investigation, the shooter used a high-powered rifle. The 28-year-old suspect was found dead at the scene, though it remains unclear whether he was killed by police gunfire or died by suicide. Authorities later served a search warrant at his home on Lakeview Boulevard.
The crime scene was secured later that day, and the investigation remains active.
Officer Wagner’s death marks a devastating loss for the Lorain Police Department and the wider law enforcement community across Ohio.
