Two women were hospitalized following a shooting incident at the corner of Lytle and Ferry Roads in Wayne Township, Warren County, officials reported. The Warren County Sheriff's Department received calls just before 1 p.m. on Monday about gunshots fired into two vehicles at the intersection, a locale known for its rural character rather than urban tumult. Sheriff Barry Riley expressed gratitude to those who rendered aid, saying, "There were witnesses in the area that stopped to render aid to these ladies, and we're forever grateful to them," as per LOCAL12 News.
One of the witnesses, a retired veteran named Michael Mazzi, was in his kitchen when the shooting occurred. He recounted hearing eight or nine shots and soon after found himself applying a tourniquet to one of the injured women. "She was obviously in a lot of pain, and he was asking people to call 911. As I looked a little more, I saw his hands were full of blood," Mazzi told LOCAL12 News. A suspect, 31-year-old Noah Bays, was later apprehended and charged with two counts of felonious assault in connection with the shooting.
Following the shooting, the Warren County Sheriff's Office confirmed the women's injuries were non-life-threatening and they are currently in stable condition. Bays, the suspect from Piqua, was initially detained in Miami County Jail before being transferred to Warren County's facility. According to details from WLWT, he has been held on a $200,000 bond, and his preliminary hearing is set for November 4. It remains unclear what specifically led up to the incident, but the case is still under active investigation.
Additional conditions have been set for Bays if he posts bail, including court-ordered house arrest with an ankle monitor. He is scheduled to appear in court again next week, and an attorney is being appointed to his defense, reported FOX19. The authorities have indicated that they do not believe the shooting to have been a random act, though they have yet to disclose further specifics about the motive or the circumstances leading up to the violence in this otherwise quiet part of Warren County.
