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Police identify two people shot in subsequent murder-suicide at Stow Taco Bell

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The two people shot and killed at a Taco Bell drive-thru in Stow on Wednesday night in an apparent murder-suicide were identified Thursday.

The Summit County Coroner determined that Jason Williams, 53, of Stow, fired the shots before turning the gun on himself, killing Megan Keleman, 25, of Stow.

Keleman died of gunshot wounds to the neck and Williams died of gunshot wounds to the head. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

The shooting occurred around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Taco Bell at 993 Graham Road in Stow, near the Cuyahoga Falls border.

“Too close to home”: Customers and mall employees react to the shooting at Taco Bell

What led to the Taco Bell shooting?

Stow Police Chief Jeffrey Film held a press conference Thursday to provide further details on the shooting.

Witnesses told investigators that Williams began honking at Keleman as she pulled into the drive-thru line in front of him, Film said, and then he drove into the back of her car.

Keleman told the Taco Bell employee over the loudspeaker to call the police after her car was hit.

The police subsequently received several calls reporting that Williams had gotten out of his car, shot Keleman and then shot himself.

Police later released 14 calls they received about the incident.

“A man just shot someone and shot himself in the head. I'm sorry, I'm really shaken, I saw him shoot himself in the head,” one caller said.

A motive has not yet been determined and no relationship between the two is known, Film said during the press conference.

“This is a true tragedy,” Film said. “Not only have the Kelemans lost a daughter, but the whole community has lost one of our daughters. … We don't have an answer at this time as to why this happened and may never know.”

The footage showed that Keleman's car also contained a dog. Rubber City Rescue took the uninjured dog, washed it and returned it to Keleman's family.

According to the film, there were “many” witnesses to the incident, but the exact number could not be determined.

The Summit County Coroner, Stow Police and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation are involved in the investigation.

Film said the Ohio BCI got involved because Stow didn't have enough homicide detectives to cover the case. The last murder in the city occurred five years ago.

Who were Williams and Keleman?

According to the film, Williams was not known to Stow police before the shooting, but confirmed that he had been arrested once for drunk driving.

According to Keleman's social media pages, she recently graduated from Cleveland State University. She received her master's degree in business administration from CSU in May and a bachelor's degree in finance and financial management services before that.

On her LinkedIn page, she described herself as a “child advocate and accountant.” According to her LinkedIn page, she worked for Shelter Care Inc., a Tallmadge-based residential treatment program for children ages 6 to 18 who have emotional or behavioral problems.

Keleman's family released a statement Thursday through Stow Police, saying in part: “In light of recent events, our family is suffering an immensely painful loss of Megan Elizabeth Keleman. … We appreciate the community's support and hope our wish for privacy will be respected so we can continue to focus on supporting one another during this difficult time.”

Mayor of Akron and Taco Bell respond to shooting

According to a statement from the company's public relations team, the Taco Bell restaurant on Graham Road has remained closed since the incident.

“Our priority is to consider the well-being of the team and move at their pace,” the statement said.

The company expressed shock at the shooting and said the franchisee and operator is cooperating with authorities during the investigation and offering support to team members who were present during the incident.

Akron Mayor Shammas Malik increased to X Thursday afternoon to share his thoughts on the shooting. He expressed his condolences to those affected by the incident.

“We must all work together to address the underlying issues that lead to violence,” he wrote.

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