Paul Rainer, 41, was indicted in Clark County Common Pleas Court on six charges: two counts of improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation or school safety zone, felonious assault, two counts of having weapons under disability, and domestic violence. The Springfield News-Sun reported the indictment, citing the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office.
Ohio Revised Code Section 2923.161 covers knowingly discharging a firearm at or into an occupied habitation and specified school-related circumstances. The section classifies a violation as a felony of the second degree.
Police account of the incident
The News-Sun’s account of a Springfield police report says the investigation began after a May 21, 2018, incident at a home on the 2100 block of Gladden Avenue. Rainer’s wife’s brother told police he had seen her being attacked and intervened. The report alleges Rainer assaulted his wife and fired at her brother.
According to the police-report account, the brother was not hit; a shot struck the house while family members were inside, and two more shots were fired. These are allegations described in the report, not findings established by the indictment.
Domestic-violence incidents in Clark County
The Ohio Attorney General’s 2023 domestic-violence report listed 562 Clark County incidents with a DVI charge, 120 with another charge and 357 with no charge. These countywide figures do not establish anything about the allegations in Rainer’s case, and the 2023 totals alone do not show how incidents changed over time.
