One of two veteran officers killed in Saturday's shooing in Westerville was a native of Northeast Ohio.
Prior to spending 30 years on the force, 54-year-old Anthony Morelli was a 1982 graduate of Massilon Washington High School.
"He was scrappy, tenacious," high school classmate Tony Mastrianni said in an interview Sunday afternoon. "He was tough. He was smart."
Mastrianni was a classmate and a teammate of Morelli on the school's football team. Both attended their 35th high school reunion a few months ago.
"He was just a sweetheart of a guy," Mastrianni said as he paused, holding back tears. "He was a nice man, he was a good guy."
On Saturday, February 10, Morelli and fellow officer, Eric Joering, 39, were fatally shot and killed while responding to a 'potential domestic situation.'
According to WCMH, the two officers were fired at almost immediately as they arrived.
Officer Joering died at the scene and Officer Morelli later died at a local hospital.
With a combined nearly 50 years of experience, Westerville Police Chief Joe Morbitzer says the two officers were 'American heroes.'
In a news conference, Morbitzer went on the say, “These were two of the best we had,” Morbitzer said. “This was their calling and they did it right, they knew how to do policing the right way, both of them.”
The Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio created a GoFundme to assist the families of the fallen officers.
The account has raised more than $200,000.
Police have identified the suspect in the fatal shooting as 30-year-old Quentin L. Smith.