Authorities in northwest Ohio say a 29-year-old man chased and fatally shot his 20 -year-old ex-girlfriend in her car before barricading himself in his home and committed suicide, according to the Associated Press. Police in Toledo identified the woman killed on Sunday morning as Kaitlin Gerber. Authorities said her ex-boyfriend Jashua Perz chased her in a car, firing shots at her. She ultimately crashed her car in a parking lot, possibly after being struck by a bullet, the AP said. He then went over to her vehicle and shot her several more times, according to The Daily Mail.
He then fled south toward his him in Maumee, Ohio, and barricaded himself inside as a SWAT team swarmed outside the property. Crisis negotiators spoke to him by phone for several hours, and the Toledo Blaze reported he indicated he may come out. Ultimately, the SWAT team forced their way into his home, where they saw Perz dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Gerber's family indicated that Kaitlin was stalked, threatened and harassed by Perz leading up to her death. The two had met while she was working at a restaurant. She even dyed her hair so Prez would be unable to recognize her once their relationship got bad last year. After he sent threatening letters to her workplace, she contacted authorities, The Daily Mail reported.
In early February, Perz was charged with four misdemeanor counts of violating the order after he continued to call and write to his ex-girlfriend, but the case were dismissed three weeks later on the recommendation of the prosecutor's office.
"This guy was in jail for violent behavior and broke a protection order," Kaitlin's father Jeff said. "He was a monster. A real monster. The criminal justice system has completely disappointed us," he said.
Kaitlin frantically called 9-11 in the late morning on Sunday to report that Perz was chasing her in her car with a gun. Witnesses also called 9-11 to report to report on the gunshots ringing out.
She came to a stop on the sidewalk outside a shopping center. Prez drove up to her car and fired several more rounds, Steve Kahle, a Lucas County Coroner's Office investigator, said.
When officers reached her, she already died from gunshot wounds.
'It's a very sad situation,' Sergeant Joe Hoffman said. 'It is unusual to have somebody being chased through the streets getting fired at. It's just sad to see this young lady had to lose her life in this manner. It's just a tragedy.'
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