Wood County Sheriff investigating officer-involved shooting

TOWN OF NEW HOPE – The Wood County Sheriff’s Department is helping investigate two deaths and an officer-involved shooting that officials say happened July 6 in the town of New Hope.

Law enforcement was called to a home in New Hope for a welfare check just before 9 p.m. Sunday, the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. There, deputies with the Portage County Sheriff’s Office said they found a man dead in the front yard.

They surrounded the home, and eventually a 35-year-old man who deputies say was armed came out of the back of the house. He ultimately was shot by a deputy, officials said. He was treated at the scene and then taken by MedEvac Air to a local hospital.

Deputies then entered the home, where they found a second body, this time of a woman, officials said, adding that both the man in the yard and the woman in the home appeared to have died from gunshot wounds. Deputies also found two children inside the home; they were not injured and are now with a family member, officials said.

The deputy involved in the shooting is a 13-year veteran of the Portage County Sheriff’s Office; he has been placed on administrative duty following agency policy while an investigation is underway. No other people were injured during the incident, according to officials.

The Wood County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the officer-involved shooting, while the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office is leading the death investigation. Those findings will then be given to the Portage County District Attorney’s Office for review.