A road rage shooting on I-71 northbound left one person with minor injuries Tuesday afternoon in Medina County, and by the time investigators finished tracing the suspect's car, the trail had run nearly 40 miles south to North Canton. Twenty-six-year-old Thassanai Suwannasin was taken into custody without incident and charged with felonious assault. Automated license-plate cameras were credited with narrowing down where his vehicle had gone, and two firearms were recovered from the car at the time of his arrest.
Troopers Trace Gunfire Scene on I-71 to a Stark County Address
The shooting happened about three miles north of the State Route 83 exit on I-71 northbound, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Two adults, a man and a woman, were in the vehicle that came under fire, as reported by Cleveland 19 News. One of the two suffered minor injuries while the other was not hurt, the outlet reported. Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers responded to the scene along the interstate and turned to the region's Flock Safety camera network to pick up the fleeing car's trail.
North Canton's Jackson Township police officers joined the response once the vehicle was located in the area of Strip Avenue NW, per the same report. According to Jordan Miller News, the arrest took place in the 6400 block of Strip Avenue NW and officers recovered two firearms from Suwannasin's vehicle, while an earlier account placed the arrest address in the 600 block of the same street. Suwannasin was taken into custody without incident, authorities said.
The arrest was carried out with help from the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, a partnership of more than 125 federal, state and local agencies that U.S. Marshal Peter Elliott created in 2003, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Since then, the task force has apprehended more than 70,000 violent fugitives across 40 counties in northern Ohio, the agency says. Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers and Jackson Township officers worked alongside task force members in North Canton to take Suwannasin into custody.
Medina's Camera Bet Faces Pushback Next Door in Brunswick
The case is likely to bolster arguments made by Medina Police Chief Ed Kinney, who told city council members in June that the department's Flock Safety camera subscription accelerates investigations by giving officers quick vehicle leads, as Hoodline reported at the time. Medina first signed its Flock agreement in 2023 and renewed the subscription again this summer.
Not every community in Medina County shares that enthusiasm. In nearby Brunswick, residents launched a ballot petition drive in June to dismantle the city's Flock camera network, citing privacy concerns and worries about cross-jurisdictional data sharing, Hoodline previously found. Civil liberties advocates have raised similar objections as the technology spreads.
Ohio's AI Camera Networks Keep Expanding Statewide
Medina's reliance on the cameras reflects a broader statewide trend. State reporting in July found that non-police Ohio agencies, including the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, the State Fire Marshal and state prison authorities, have also expanded contracts for Flock Safety's AI-powered license-plate reader databases, according to Signal Statewide. Flock operates an estimated 90,000 cameras nationwide, the outlet noted.
Felonious Assault Charge Carries Mandatory Prison Time Amid a Regional Pattern
Suwannasin's felonious assault charge falls under Ohio Revised Code Section 2903.11, a second-degree felony punishable by up to eight years in prison and a $15,000 fine, according to the Botnick Law Firm. If firearm specifications under Section 2941.145 are proven, state law requires additional mandatory prison time on top of any sentence for the underlying felony.
Road rage shootings are not rare on Northeast Ohio highways. In June, a driver was shot on I-271 and trailed the suspect's red SUV onto I-480 while calling 911, with police again relying on fixed roadside cameras to trace the route, Hoodline reported in June. Nationally, Everytown Research documented 883 road rage shootings in 2025 that resulted in 114 deaths, according to Everytown Research & Policy.
