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'I shot him because he stabbed me' | 911 calls detail man's self defense claim after deadly shooting

Police said they believe the two injured each other
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FOREST PARK, Ohio — A man was found dead inside a home in Forest Park Wednesday morning, according to police.

Forest Park police said 66-year-old Timothy Woodson died after he was shot multiple times on Lincrest Drive. Another person was taken from the house to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center with multiple stab wounds, police said.

According to 911 calls released Wednesday, the man who had been stabbed told dispatchers he shot Woodson in self-defense.

"I shot him because he was stabbing me," he said.

The dispatcher told the man to put a clean towel on his wounds and apply pressure and asked if the man he'd shot was alive.

"I don't know how many times he stabbed me, I'm laying down," the man told dispatchers.

"I understand," the dispatcher said. "I want you to get in a comfortable position and not move around a whole lot."

Veteran criminal defense attorney Mark Krumbein said, based on available information, it's difficult to tell if self defense is a viable legal defense.

"If, in fact, the other person stabbed him, he may have had the right to use a firearm to defend himself," Krumbein said.

Krumbein said Ohio law changed to be more friendly to those who claim self defense in recent years shifting the burden of proof on prosecutors. He said the person who shot someone is presumed to have acted in self defense, and prosecutors need to prove they did not act in self defense.

"For years we were like the Last of the Mohicans," Krumbein said. "Ohio was, I think, the last state in the union where you had to prove self defense. In the last few years, that has changed."

The attorney said the shooter's ability to retreat safely without shooting someone could play a role in the defense, and determining who was the aggressor would be key.

"The facts leading up to this are going to be critical," he said.

Police at the scene Wednesday morning said they believe Woodson was working on the house, which was being rehabbed.

Officers said they haven't yet determined the relationship between Woodson and the person taken to the hospital, but said they believe the two caused one another's injuries.

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