Man accidentally killed himself

NEWARK, Ohio - A domestic violence situation turned deadly when the man pursuing his estranged girlfriend accidentally shot himself Monday.

Newark (Ohio) Police Chief Barry Connell said the incident began when Phillip L. Parker II, 29, found his estranged girlfriend in a Walmart parking lot in Newark. USA TODAY generally does not name the victims of domestic abuse.

Parker, of Marion, Ohio, is believed to have pursued the 26-year-old in her car. She stopped her vehicle and put it in reverse. Parker then continued to pursue her while she was driving in reverse.

The vehicles collided with other vehicles and possibly the curb, Connell said.

That's when it is believed Parker shot himself accidentally while inside his own vehicle. He then got out of the car and continued to shoot at his estranged girlfriend as she fled the area, striking her once.

Parker then collapsed on the ground. Bystanders performed CPR until medics arrived. Connell said Parked died at the scene.

The woman in the incident was taken to the hospital and a child who was in her vehicle also was examined but was not physically injured.

Dana Jack was at a red light when he saw two vehicles come "flying" down the street.

"It looked like they were trying to run each other off the road," he said. "The tires were squealing and everything."

Jack said he thought it was just a couple of drivers being unsafe but he heard the vehicles coming back in his direction and then heard the sound of collisions.

He saw Parker get out of his vehicle with a gun drawn, chasing his estranged girlfriend, who was running down the street.

"She ran screaming 'Don't shoot me, don't shoot me,' " Jack said. "She was just screaming at the top of her lungs."

The man fired several shots from a "shooter stance," Jack said, while the woman ran into a Sprint store.

Jack turned around and did not see the man. When Jack got out of his vehicle, he saw the man lying on the ground with what appeared to be blood on his back.

Six 911 calls were placed from the scene, with the first one coming at 10:45 a.m., believed to be from the woman.

On the 911 call, a woman can be heard yelling "Leave me alone" and then "Help! This guy's going to shoot me." Dispatchers tried to get a location from the caller, who can be heard running. Three gunshots are also heard on the call.

Within two minutes, five other calls had been placed to 911 by witnesses and bystanders.

It was not the first time police had been called about Parker.

Last month, the woman called after an alleged incident of domestic violence at her home in Newark, Ohio. A police reported indicated Parker, who was listed as living at the same address as the woman, caused physical harm to her and photographs from the incident show what appear to be an injured lip and possibly blackened eyes, as well as bruises on her arm.

Connell said Parker was arrested for that incident and charged with disorderly conduct. That case was still pending at the time of his death.

The woman called police again Sunday from a domestic violence shelter about an incident that happened Friday.

Connell said the woman reported Parker held her at gunpoint and threatened to kill her and her family. Police had been searching for Parker and on Monday they recommended charges to the Licking County (Ohio) Prosecutor's Office.

Monday's shooting was the second time in three months that a domestic violence incident in central Ohio turned into public gunfire.

In May, a gunman killed Kirkersville (Ohio) Police Chief Eric DiSario and two nursing home employees, before turning the gun on himself.

Connell said in the wake of both shootings, he did not know what more his department could do.

"I don't know that we could do any more than we are doing," he said. "We have a good response with our officers. They do a very thorough job. ... They always make sure the cases are complete and submitted for charges."

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