Noah Clifton (Brown County Jail)
An Ohio man allegedly shot his grandparents on Wednesday night and shot his cousin in the face before a responding officer arrived on scene, spotted a pistol on the ground, and witnessed the suspect standing next to a running car.
Noah Steven Clifton, a 24-year-old in Georgetown, is accused of opening fire at a Wahlsburg East Road residence located right across the street from West Fork Cemetery.
According to the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, the call about the shooting came in a minute before 6:30 p.m., and the first law enforcement officer on scene was a Georgetown Police Department officer.
When the officer got to the home, Clifton was seemingly getting ready to leave, investigators said.
The suspect was “just outside of the residence standing near a vehicle that was running,” the sheriff’s office said.
“This individual was ordered to step away from the vehicle which he did. A handgun was observed on the ground near the subject,” authorities continued. “The subject was taken into custody without incident.”
Once Clifton was in custody, a Georgetown officer and a Brown County deputy immediately learned that two elderly victims had been shot at the residence.
Ralph Neff Sr., 81, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. Margaret Neff, 76, was shot in the chest and abdomen. She had to be airlifted to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Zachary Neff, 30, was found alive at a residence next-door. He was also airlifted to be treated for a face wound.
The initial statement from the sheriff’s office listed Margaret and Zachary’s status as “unknown,” and added that Clifton would be charged with two accounts of attempted murder and one count of murder.
Brown County Jail records reviewed by Law&Crime show, however, that Clifton was booked Thursday at 12:35 a.m. on two counts of murder and one count of felonious assault, suggesting that one of the two surviving victims died. Jail authorities did not confirm that another victim died but they did indicate the listed charges were accurate, local Fox affiliate WXIX reported.
This is a developing story.
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