Two people are dead following what police believe to be a murder-suicide at the Taco Bell drive-thru on Graham Road in Stow. The incident occurred around 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, according to Stow Police Captain Bryan Snavely.
The Taco Bell, located at 993 Graham Road near the Stow-Cuyahoga Falls border, was quickly surrounded by police and emergency responders. By 9 p.m., multiple police cars and fire department vehicles were present, along with a small crowd of onlookers.
Witnesses, including Brandon Cromer and Blake Sherman, who work at a nearby pizza shop, reported hearing gunshots before people rushed into their restaurant seeking safety.
According to other witnesses, a man exited his vehicle in the drive-thru, approached the car in front of him, and shot both the driver and the passenger. He then turned the gun on himself. The condition of the third person who was shot remains unknown.
By 9 p.m., several vehicles were left abandoned in the drive-thru lane.
Witnesses took to social media to express their shock and sadness. One person shared, “We just drove by on our way home, and my heart sank. You could hear people crying in the parking lot. Prayers to all involved.”
Another wrote, “Someone got out of their car, fired shots into the car in front of them, and then turned the gun on themselves.”
A third person recounted, “I heard four rapid popping sounds that could’ve been gunshots coming from the direction of Taco Bell while I was in the Walmart parking lot. A Stow police officer arrived within minutes, driving over the sidewalk and sprinting towards the building.”