2 dead after Thanksgiving Day argument

LICKING TWP. -  Two men are dead after a shooting Thursday afternoon just outside Heath, Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp said.

The incident was reported about 4 p.m. Thursday at 195 Rosemary Road, a home at the very end of a no-outlet street in Licking Township.

As of Friday morning, identities of the two men were not being released, pending formal notification of next of kin of one of the men, a spokesperson for the Licking County Coroner's Office said.

Thorp early Thursday evening said preliminary investigation and witness statements indicate there was some sort of struggle between two men that involved a handgun. Both men died of gunshot wounds and only one weapon was found, he said.

Multiple shots were fired and it is not believed the gun was fired by accident, Thorp said. He said while the matter is being treated as a homicide, coroner reports and further investigation are needed to determine if one of the men died of self-inflicted wounds. Thorp would not say where on the body the men were shot.

Thorp said names might not be reported until Friday morning, because some family members need to be notified.

Autopsies on the men are scheduled to be performed Sunday and Monday.

Thorp confirmed one of the victims lived at the home and the other was a friend or acquaintance who had come to the residence. The incident is not considered to be a home invasion or domestic dispute.

Thorp did not have an exact number, but said there were three or four people in the home at the time who witnessed the shooting. He said Thanksgiving dinner was being prepared.

The shooting occurred inside the home, but Thorp didn’t reveal which room. He said witnesses and family members would be interviewed to determine what problem might have existed between the men.

“We have a general idea,” Thorp said. “But, until we can talk to all the witnesses and put all the pieces together, we don’t want to speculate or misspeak.”