Woman dies from accidental shooting by officer during drug raid


A woman has died after being accidentally shot by a law-enforcement officer during a Ross County drug raid on Wednesday night.
Krystal Barrows, 35, had been flown to a Columbus-area hospital in critical condition after she was shot, the Ross County sheriff said.
The Chillicothe Gazette reported this morning that Barrows has died from a gunshot to the head. The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to requests for information this morning.
Barrows was one of 11 people crowded into a modular home off Rt. 23 in southern Ross County when the sheriff’s office Emergency Response Team went in about 10:30 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.
The office wouldn’t give details yesterday about what happened, other than to acknowledge that a woman had been shot during the operation. Sheriff George W. Lavender Jr. did not return numerous calls to discuss the situation.
Prosecutor Matt Schmidt told local media that the woman was unintentionally shot by a law-enforcement officer during the raid. Schmidt said it was unclear whether the gunfire resulted from a weapon malfunction or the officer’s error.
Authorities also wouldn’t say whether the officer who shot the woman was a Ross County deputy or with another agency. The sheriff’s office and the U.S. 23 Task Force, which includes other law-enforcement agencies, had been watching the home for some time.
Large amounts of heroin, drug instruments, cash and guns were recovered from the scene.
Six people were arrested during the raid, mostly on outstanding warrants.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has been called in to review how the search warrant was executed.