An armed person “lunged” at Amy Acton, Ohio’s Democratic nominee for governor, and injured several people at a fair, a spokesperson for her campaign said Sunday.
A suspect, Patrick Havas, 38, was arrested, according to the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident, according to a statement from the sheriff’s spokesperson, Gerry Ricciutti, occurred around 2:30 p.m. Sunday while Acton visited the annual Canfield Fair in Canfield, a suburb of Youngstown. Acton, a physician, was not hurt and remained on-site to attend to one of the injured people, according to a photo a person at the event shared with NBC News.
The extent of injuries to others was not immediately known.
Acton and her husband, Eric, “are grateful for the swift and decisive action of law enforcement and are praying for the recovery of those injured,” said Addie Bullock, the campaign’s spokesperson.
“This kind of violence has no place in Ohio,” Bullock added. “Dr. Acton will always stand up to the chaos, hate and vitriol that pits us against one another.”
Acton was speaking to a crowd in the Mahoning County Democratic Party’s tent at the fair when Havas, who lives in Canfield, approached with a cellphone set up to record the visit, Ricciutti said.
“As he was entering the tent, Havas started pushing his way through the crowd,” Ricciutti added. “Dr. Acton’s security detail, which was made up of Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers, confronted Havas, and as that was happening, two people were knocked to the ground.”