GEORGETOWN, Ohio — Calls made to Brown County 911 dispatchers on the night of Sept. 20 by family members after 24-year-old Noah Clifton allegedly opened fire on his grandparents and cousin provide insight into the moments before police arrived on scene.
That night, Brown County Sheriff Gordon Ellis said deputies were alerted just before 6:30 p.m. to reports of an active shooter at a home on Wahlburg East Road in Georgetown. Inside that home, police found 81-year-old Ralph Neff Sr. dead with a gunshot wound to the head. His wife, 77-year-old Margaret Neff, had been shot multiple times in the chest and abdomen.
Zachary Neff, 30, was shot in the face. Margaret and Zachary were both airlifted to the hospital for their injuries, Ellis said.
"My cousin shot me and my grandparents," Zachary told dispatchers in a call to 911 that night. "I'm shot in the face, my grandma is on the ground, I don't know if she's responsive or not."
Zachary told dispatchers the person who pulled the trigger was his cousin, Clifton. He said Clifton was "schizophrenic," and he had no idea how his cousin had gotten his hands on a gun.
In the 911 call, Zachary said Clifton had taken everyone's cell phones, so he ran to his father's home next door to call for help.
"My head's pounding, my heart's pounding, I'm shot in the face. I've lost a lot of blood too, I'm getting faint," he said.
The dispatcher told Zachary that Brown County deputies were in the middle of a shift change, but they'd be arriving at the home as soon as possible. That night, Georgetown police arrived first, followed by Brown County deputies and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
"We have units coming to you, OK?" the dispatcher said.
"Do you know how long? I don't wanna get shot again," said Zachary.
In a second 911 call, Zachary's father told dispatchers Zachary ran to his home, covered in blood.
"My nephew just f****** shot everybody, he shot my mom and dad and my son," said Zachary's father.
Both Zachary and his father told dispatchers the same thing: Clifton was outside of the home, sitting on a car.
"Yeah, that's where he's at and he's looking right at me, 'cause he's sitting on the trunk of his car," Zachary's father told one dispatcher.
"He's sitting on the trunk of his car, just smiling," said Zachary.
A third 911 call also came in to dispatchers that night, but it disconnected abruptly.
"Yes, we've been shot, we've been shot," said the female caller, before the call ended.
When officers arrived, they found Clifton outside the home, near a vehicle, a handgun on the ground next to him. Ellis said he was arrested without incident.
The day after the shooting, Clifton appeared in court. A statement of facts provided by officers who were at the scene the night before says Zachary told police he and his grandparents were sitting in the living room watching television when Clifton walked in and started shooting.
The document also says Clifton, while he was being interviewed by the Brown County Sheriff's Office, told a detective that a couple of weeks before, he'd fantasized about killing his grandparents while playing Xbox.
He faces multiple charges, including one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder.
On Sept. 25, Ellis released more information on the family members who were hospitalized. Margaret is still receiving medical care at UCMC, listed as stable but critical condition.
"She is awake and able to speak," reads the press release.
Zachary has been released from the hospital.
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