Saturday, March 25, 2000
Digitron worker dies in shooting
Colleagues subdue gunman in attack at Franklin plant
BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FRANKLIN — A man walked into a machine shop where he worked and opened fire Friday evening, killing his wife and wounding her brother before he was subdued by other employees, police said.
Authorities said the shooting followed a domestic dispute between the gunman and his wife — who also worked at Digitron Inc. with her brother — in the parking lot of the company.
Franklin police said Shirley A. Pardon, 39, was pronounced dead at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where she had been taken by Care Flight. A hospital spokeswoman said she was shot in the face. Her brother, James D. Allen, 36, of Kettering, was shot in the leg and is in fair condition at Miami Valley.
Police said Michael D. Pardon, 26, entered the rear of the building, at 300 Conover Drive, just off Ohio 73 in northern Warren County, about 5:30 p.m.
After the initial shots were fired, Mr. Pardon walked up a set of stairs where employees were in a break area and continued spraying shots from his .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol, police said. No one else was wounded by gunfire.
Most of the about two dozen employees in the building scattered as the gunshots rang out. “We're not sure what he was shooting at after the initial shooting,” said Franklin police Capt. Gerry Massey.
As Mr. Pardon made his way to the top of a set of steps, several employees rushed toward him, eventually subduing Mr. Pardon and taking the gun away. Police said one employee was injured struggling to subdue Mr. Pardon.
Franklin police received the call about the shooting about 5:37 p.m., just after the second-shift employees arrived. The first officer arrived at the scene at 5:38, and Mr. Pardon was in custody minutes later.
Mr. Pardon, who lived with his wife in Franklin, has been charged with aggravated murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault.
Jeff Reynolds, who was arriving at work, said other employees told him what happened.
“He comes in with the gun. Everybody was sitting upstairs ready to go to work. He pulls the gun out and just starts shooting,” said Mr. Reynolds, 29, of Franklin. He has worked at the company for two years.
Mr. Reynolds said the couple had “a little stress between them the last few days.” But, he said “there was nothing out of the ordinary about (the suspect). He seemed like a nice guy to me.”
He said the couple moved recently to Franklin from Tennessee. A tow truck hauled away a red pickup with a Tennessee license plate.
Police said Mr. Pardon worked the first shift at the factory and his wife and her brother worked the second shift.
Capt. Massey said Mr. Pardon left after his shift was over and returned with his wife. Mr. Reynolds said it was not unusual for Mr. Pardon to hang around the machine shop after his shift ended.
Police said a counselor was called in by Digitron to assist the employees.
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