Talk-show host says he shot 2 men while under siege

The Columbus Dispatch has published more detailed information on CHL-holder Cornell McCleary, who shot two men Wednesday night after he was punched in the face and surrounded by a threatening group of about 10 men.

From the story:

None of the men appeared to be armed, but "there’s no doubt in my mind they would have killed somebody," said McCleary, 51, who runs a security company and hosts a Sunday night talk show on WTVN (610 AM).

"This was a mob situation," he said.

With his .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol, McCleary shot the two men standing closest to him. He said one had just punched him and the other was about to attack. The gunfire sent the crowd running into a nearby apartment, he said.

According to the news story, the confrontation occurred at 5:55 p.m. while McCleary was working as a security guard for Rustic Ridge Apartments on Vineshire Drive.

Police told the Dispatch it started when a group of men threatened a couple who live at the East Side complex.

Again, from the story:

"We’re going to kill you," members of the group told the man, McCleary said. "I kept telling them to leave the property."

When McCleary tried to intervene, police said, more men showed up, and one of them punched McCleary in the face.

"The guy cold-cocked me," he said.

Then McCleary began firing.

It was the first time in his 23 years as a security guard that he’s had to shoot, McCleary said.

"It’s a new breed," he said of his alleged attackers. "They don’t need a reason."

The newspaper reports that the two men who were shot — Kevin Gullick, 36, and Mark Harmon, 20 — were taken to Grant Medical Center. Gullick was listed in serious condition last night; Harmon was released Wednesday night.

The newspaper reports that police questioned McCleary after the incident and released him. No one has been charged, and detectives continue to investigate.

NOTE: The Dispatch's reporters seem to be having a problem with using terminology that correctly describes Mr. McCleary's status as a concealed handgun license-holder.

In the newspapers' two stories on this issue, reporters Matt Marx and Alayna DeMartini have erroniously referred to McCleary's CHL as a "weapons permit". And in this latest story, DeMartini included a strange observation that McCleary is "up to date on all of his firearms training, a spokesman from the Ohio Department of Public Safety said."

Since Ohio's concealed carry law is only one year old, and since Ohio law does not require re-qualification for six years, doesn't that go without saying?