Winnie-Marie Dortch, a reporter for Cleveland’s WOIO Channel 19 News, is recovering from surgery after a man shot her before turning a gun on himself.
As the Milwaukee Journal reports, Dortch was shot during a domestic incident in Lakewood, Ohio.
Lakewood, Ohio, police told WOIO that just before 8 a.m. Monday, a person called to report two people arguing in the area of Clifton Boulevard. As officers were responding there, callers reported that shots were fired.
Lakewood police said they arrived to Chase Avenue to find two people shot on the sidewalk, a man and a woman. Authorities have identified the man as Bryant Carter, 34, from Bedford, Ohio.
Dortch was rushed to a hospital and underwent surgery late Monday morning, according to WOIO. Her family said it went well.
Police said they recovered a gun at the scene and continue to investigative the circumstances of the shooting and the nature of their relationship, but said they were familiar to each other, the report said.
“This morning, our friend and colleague Winnie Dortch was the victim of a brutal domestic violence attack,” WOIO News Director Brian Sinclair said. “She was immediately rushed to MetroHealth Medical Center and underwent surgery for her injuries. Our prayers are with her, her young daughter, and the many other victims of domestic violence in our community.”
Dortch announced on social media that she and her daughter were moving to her hometown Chicago, where she had accepted her “dream job.
“For years, I’ve been trying to make it back home to the best city in the Midwest!” she wrote in a Sept. 18 Instagram post. “God has a way of bringing things FULL CIRCLE! My childhood dream has come true. As of December 2024, I will be a full-time reporter at WGN-TV. To my family, friends, co-workers, strangers and associates, thank you for the encouragement. I’M COMING HOME YALL!”
According to Lakewood police, detectives are “conducting an ongoing investigation of the incident itself, as well as the nature of the relationship between the two involved parties, as it appears that they were familiar with each other.”