COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A 9-year-old boy who police say wasshot by his mother’s former boyfriend
remained in critical conditionSaturday after a series of shootings that ended with the man’s death.Jaiden
Dixon was at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. Two more people were hospitalized Friday from the
shootings.Columbuspolice said Saturday that Officer Steve Smith was in stable conditionand was expected to
be released over the weekend. A second formergirlfriend of the suspect had been hospitalized Friday in
criticalcondition; the hospital didn’t have updated information to releaseSaturday on 42-year-old Vicki
Vertin.Police say after shootingsat two locations, 47-year-old Danny Thornton was tracked to a shoppingarea,
where he was killed after emerging from his car with a gun Friday.Ina 911 call, a police dispatcher warned
that Thornton had threatened"suicide by cop." The dispatch said Thornton had "claimed that he
willnot go down without a fight with police."The first shooting cameat about 7:30 a.m. Friday when
Thornton shot Dixon when he opened thedoor to Thornton at a residence in Grove City, a suburb on the
city’ssouthwest side, said Grove City police Capt. Jeffrey Pearson.Vertin,also identified by police as an
ex-girlfriend of Thornton, was shotaround 8 a.m. at a dental office in Groveport, a suburb on the
city’ssoutheast side about 20 minutes away.Police said Thornton entered the office and said, "Haven’t
seen you in a while" before shooting Vertin, a dental employee.Within two hours, authorities had
tracked Thornton to a retail parking lot, where he was fatally shot.Policesaid they recovered a handgun,
which has been turned over toinvestigators to determine if Thornton fired at the officer. They werestill
trying to learn what set him on his deadly path.Thorntonreceived multiple traffic tickets in recent years,
most for speeding,according to Columbus Municipal Court records. Franklin County recordsshow a 1986 guilty
plea to attempted felonious assault.JaridFitzpatrick, 17, who lived at the home where Jaiden was shot, said
theywere getting ready to leave for school when the shooting happened."Thenicest, cutest; he’s an angel
pretty much," he told WBNS TV inColumbus. "He’s never done anything to nobody. … He wanted
everybodyto love him."Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rightsreserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.