NEW ALBANY, Ohio (AP) — A warehouse worker said in a frantic 911 call that he was shot in the neck and then took the gun from a co-worker after he had shot several others. Two people died and four were injured in the Ohio shooting that sent panicked employees fleeing.
It's unclear what led to the Tuesday night shooting at the warehouse in New Albany, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northeast of downtown Columbus. The man accused in the attack, Bruce Reginald Foster III, 28, made an initial court appearance Thursday, with bond set at $20 million. He was seeking a court-appointed lawyer and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for next week.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office said Thursday that one of the shooting victims, Shakhar Chapagai, 30, died Wednesday evening at Mount Carmel East, a Columbus hospital. The other person killed was Kyle Vaver, 38, of Pickerington, the Licking County Coroner's Office announced Thursday. Vaver died at the scene Tuesday, authorities said.
No details have been released about the conditions of the wounded workers.
In 911 calls, workers said some of the victims were shot in the production area. The man who said he took the gun away said he handed the weapon to a supervisor.
New Albany Police Chief Greg Jones said Wednesday that Foster has talked with investigators. “I wouldn’t call him fully cooperative,” Jones said.
The lawyer who appeared with Foster in court Thursday, Hailey Doliveira, said in phone interview that she was there for the bond hearing only. She said she did not meet with Foster and so could not comment on whether he denies the allegations. Two possible phone numbers for Foster or a relative were not working Wednesday.
Police responding to the New Albany industrial park Tuesday night just missed Foster as he took a rideshare away from the scene, Jones said. Teams of police, aided by drones and a police dog, searched the facility.
“It does appear that there was contact between a victim and the shooter,” Jones said. “At this point, I don’t have a clear picture of how involved that contact was.”
Foster was found in an apartment in Columbus and arrested Wednesday morning. Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Dan Deville said a stun gun was used to subdue Foster, who he said had declined to surrender.
The shooting happened at the warehouse for a company that makes products including cosmetics and toiletries. About 150 employees inside the building were evacuated to a nearby building.
“Nobody reported that there was any conflict or that he was in trouble at work,” Jones said.
This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Kyle Vaver’s hometown. It is Pickerington, not Pickertington.
In this screengrab made from video provided by WSYX/WTTE, Bruce Reginald Foster III, not pictured, the man accused in a shooting at a New Albany, Ohio, warehouse, made an initial court appearance Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, with bond set at $20 million. (WSYX/WTTE via AP)
This image taken from video provided by WSYX shows police responding to an active shooter early Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in New Albany, Ohio. (WSYX via AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
