Huss4 p.m., the Tiffin Police Department received frantic emergency calls reporting gunshots and screaming in the 100 block of Huss Street. What awaited officers inside was a devastating scene: two young children and an adult man suffering from gunshot wounds, and a mother who, though physically unharmed, was clearly reeling from the horror.
From what investigators have pieced together, the tragedy unfolded as the mother of two was trying to remove her belongings from the home. She had arranged for 29-year-old Dustin Willey, the father of her older child, to help her move because she had been having ongoing domestic issues with her husband, Ryan Eagon, 42.
At the time, the two children — a 7-year-old boy and a 7-month-old infant — were outside near a vehicle while their mother and Willey packed up inside. Suddenly, the older child cried out. When the mother and Willey went to check, they saw Eagon standing in the driveway.
According to witness statements and physical evidence, Eagon immediately charged, pushing past the mother, and began firing. He shot Dustin Willey, then turned the weapon toward the children — the little boy and infant — fatally wounding both, before firing again at Willey.
After the shooting, Eagon died from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. The mother later told investigators she had carried her injured children back into the house while waiting for first responders to arrive.
Emergency teams including Tiffin Fire & Rescue worked at the scene to render aid. Willey was taken to Tiffin Mercy Hospital, but he later died from his injuries. Tragically, the infant was pronounced dead at the scene, and the 7-year-old, though transported to the hospital, also succumbed to his wounds.
Police emphasized that no officers fired their weapons, and no law enforcement personnel were injured. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Seneca County Coroner’s Office have joined the probe, and autopsies are pending.
Amid the community’s shock, Tiffin Police Chief David Pauly released a statement asking for compassion and support for everyone involved — the grieving families, first responders, medical personnel, and the broader town. Grief counseling and resources are being organized to help the city begin healing.
Investigators are continuing their work — interviews, evidence processing, and forensics — as they attempt to understand how a mother’s attempt to leave a toxic home turned into such a heart-wrenching loss.
