Shooter's 'go bag' tells part of story

Gunbattle details, information on suspect revealed
Wednesday,  September 9, 2009 3:10 AM
By Theodore Decker

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 Cops call it a "go bag."

It's a duffel they can grab in a heartbeat, one that contains water, first-aid supplies, extra ammunition -- some of the essentials needed to stay alive if an officer is caught in an extended gunfight.

"It's designed for the long haul, for the long battle," said Sgt. Rich Weiner, a spokesman for the Columbus Division of Police.

That might, police believe, say something about the mental state of Jason Farnsworth, the 37-year-old who sped away from a traffic stop Monday, shot two Columbus officers and strafed his University District neighborhood with gunfire before turning a rifle on himself.

"The suspect had a go bag in his car," Weiner said.

In the bag found in the car that Farnsworth abandoned behind his apartment at 1919 N. 4th St. were gun magazines and both 9mm and .45-caliber ammunition.

In his apartment, they found an AK-47 rifle with banana and drum clips designed to hold large numbers of rounds; assorted ammunition; a shotgun; and a marijuana-growing operation. Police were still searching the apartment yesterday, in part because they hadn't found the 9 mm handgun used on one of the officers.

Police released new details yesterday that shed more light on the events that terrified residents and left police counting their blessings after both officers were released from Ohio State University Medical Center.

But a motive?

"We don't know what set him off," Weiner said. "We may never know."

Franklin County Coroner Jan Gorniak ruled that Farnsworth killed himself with a close-range shot to the chest from the AK-47. He also had a piece of shrapnel in his face, though it wasn't clear whether that came from a police bullet or his own.

Police gave this updated account:

A motorist called police at 3:21 p.m. Monday to report an erratic driver on northbound I-71. Farnsworth was stopped and turned over his driver's license, but then fled, leading police on a winding route to his neighborhood.

He soon ditched his car and ran down an alley behind his apartment. Officer Wesley Hurley got out of his cruiser.

"As Farnsworth is getting out of the car, he begins firing" a 9 mm handgun at Hurley, Weiner said.

Hurley, 26, was hit in the chest but saved by his bullet-resistant vest.

Farnsworth had left his apartment keys in his car, so he smashed a window to his apartment. He began firing the AK-47 at officers. He also riddled the inside of the apartment with bullets.

"He's pretty much spraying and praying," Weiner said. "He's shooting through the walls and the windows."

Three officers in front of the apartment returned fire: Officers Bryan Mason, Donald Worthington and Bryan Brumfield.

"They saw him," Weiner said. "We are never just going to start throwing bullets into the apartment. We will not engage unless we see him."

Officer Joshua Wagner, going to the scene after a citywide call for officers, was shot in the face after his cruiser rounded the corner from Dora Avenue to E. 18th Avenue. A bullet fired from the AK-47 traveled more than 150 yards and went through the cruiser's window.

The bullet remains lodged near his jaw. Wagner, 28, might need surgery, officials said.

Uniformed officers surrounded the house. SWAT officers then began replacing them.

The shooting ceased within about 30 minutes, but it wasn't until almost 6:30 p.m. that the Columbus Division of Fire bomb robot revealed via a video feed what appeared to be Farnsworth, unresponsive, near the front door. After checking for booby traps, SWAT officers entered and found him dead. Animal-control officers took his two pit bulls.

Internet postings by people saying they knew Farnsworth said he had been a decent young man who came from a good family -- his brother is a Franklin County probation officer -- who changed after sinking into drug addiction.

Sobbing yesterday, Debra Worth of Lancaster said she had seen him change over the years, as had other friends and relatives.

"That was not Jason, what he did," she said. "Jason was a good boy. I don't know what his problem was, but I suspect it was drugs. The past few years he kind of shut us all out."

She had not seen Farnsworth in five years but said the Canal Winchester High School graduate enjoyed horseback riding, camping and Kings Island. He had a deep fondness for his dogs.

"He did a lot of odd jobs," Worth said. "He wasn't a freeloader. I just don't know where he went wrong."

It was not clear how long Farnsworth had been living on N. 4th Street. Most public records show him still at his parents' rural Fairfield County home, east of Lithopolis. A man who answered the door there declined to comment.

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Sept. 9, 2009