2011 Copley Township shooting

On August 7, 2011, a mass shooting occurred in Copley Township, Ohio, carried out by 51-year-old Michael E. Hance. Seven people were killed before Hance was shot and killed by Copley police officer Ben Campbell. Hance had reportedly displayed erratic and bizarre behavior in the period before the attack and was considered by acquaintances to be delusional, though he had no formal mental health diagnosis or treatment history beyond herbal remedies.

Using two handguns — a Hi-Point Model JHP .45-caliber pistol and a Smith & Wesson Model 586 .357 Magnum revolver, both purchased from the same Barberton, Ohio store five days earlier — Hance opened fire at a house on Goodenough Avenue. His first victim was his girlfriend, Rebecca K. Dieter, who survived after being shot twice; she called 9-1-1 and later pretended to be dead. Hance then entered an adjacent house and killed Dieter's brother Craig, 16-year-old Autumn Johnson, her grandparents Russell and Gudrun Johnson, and 16-year-old Amelia Shambaugh, who had been seated in a parked car nearby. He chased and killed Autumn's father, Bryan Johnson, in a nearby driveway, then pursued 11-year-old Scott into another house, where Scott was hiding in the basement with residents Melonie Bagley and her three children. Hance found and killed Scott but left the Bagley family unharmed.

As Hance left the scene, Officer Ben Campbell and former Copley Township officer Keith Lavery confronted him and ordered him to drop his weapon. Hance instead raised his gun and fired at them; both men returned fire, and rounds from Campbell's rifle killed Hance.

In the lead-up to the shooting, Hance had been under strain, including caring for Dieter's father, who had dementia, and losing his job. He had tense relations with his neighbors, the Johnsons. He also sought repayment of a previously forgiven debt, using the funds to buy the firearms and ammunition used in the attack, and visited a gun range multiple times beforehand. Police Chief Michael Mier suggested Hance may have been planning a shooting elsewhere, with the Johnsons possibly being incidental victims.

Officer Ben Campbell was later honored with the Top Cops award, presented by President Barack Obama in May 2012, and received the Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery in March 2013. A memorial was held on the shooting's first anniversary. In 2019, the surviving victim, Rebecca Dieter, publicly stated support for red flag laws while maintaining support for Second Amendment rights, and expressed the belief that Hance had suffered from a delusional disorder. The case was later referenced by commentators on both sides of the gun control debate, including gun rights writer Massad Ayoob and gun control advocate Tom Diaz.