COLUMBIANA COUNTY Man had planned to shoot wife's neighbor, sheriff says
The shooting suspect thought his victim was interfering in his marriage, authorities say.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Investigators now believe that a Knox Township man went armed to a mobile home park intent not only on harming his wife but another woman as well.
Gregory Doak succeeded in killing one of his targets during the weekend rampage, officials said. The victim was Teresa Stoffer, 42, a friend and neighbor of Doak's wife, Angela, 39, Columbiana County Sheriff David Smith said Wednesday.
Earlier in the week, authorities said it was unclear whether Doak had gone to the trailer park Sunday evening intending to kill Stoffer, or had shot her impulsively after spotting her.
But after interviews with people familiar with events leading up to the crime, authorities now "believe he was going after Stoffer" as well as his wife, Smith said.
Investigators' sources have told them Doak believed Stoffer was interfering in his marriage, Smith related without elaborating.
What was happening: Doak and his wife were separated and getting a divorce. The domestic strife triggered Doak's rampage in the trailer park, authorities said.
Angela and Stoffer lived near each other in a mobile home park off U.S. Route 62 in Knox Township, just east of Alliance.
Doak has not been charged in Sunday's events.
As the investigation continues, authorities are developing a clearer picture of what transpired.
Doak drove to the mobile home park in his pickup, armed with a .223-caliber, semiautomatic rifle equipped with a 30-round clip.
He went initially to his wife's trailer and pounded on the door. But she refused to let him in.
Meanwhile, Stoffer came out of her trailer. Doak spotted her and opened fire, fatally wounding her with several shots, Smith said. Authorities aren't disclosing how many. She died at the scene.
After shooting Stoffer, Doak shot the lock off the door of his wife's trailer and entered seconds after his wife fled through another door, Smith said.
Doak searched the trailer. Finding his wife gone, he went outside and searched the trailer park.
His wife had left the park on foot and encountered acquaintances driving on U.S. Route 62. They stopped and gave her a ride to the Sebring Police Department.
How this ended: Doak, meanwhile, abandoned the search for his wife and returned to her trailer as law enforcement agencies converged on the park.
Inside the trailer, he shot himself with his rifle sometime before a special-response unit from the Alliance Police Department stormed the residence, Smith said.
Authorities won't say how many times he was shot, or where his wounds are. He was discovered in a bedroom.
Doak is in Akron City Hospital, where he recently was listed in serious condition. A condition update wasn't immediately available.
Hospital officials have told investigators that Doak is expected to fully recover from his wounds.