A 39-year-old Ohio father was fatally shot inside a bar while celebrating his birthday with his wife, in what investigators are calling an apparently random and unprovoked attack.
Robert Russell, of Chesterland, Ohio, had traveled to Put-in-Bay with his wife, Lindsay, to mark his upcoming 40th birthday when the shooting occurred. According to a statement from the Put-in-Bay Police Department, officers and paramedics were called to a local bar on Delaware Avenue shortly after midnight on July 23 following reports of gunfire. Responders found Russell suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Despite efforts to save him, he was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was hurt.
Local and state authorities, including the Ottawa County Major Crimes Unit, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol, joined the search for the shooter. A suspect, 21-year-old Colton Zane Smith of Michigan, was taken into custody around 3:40 a.m. He now faces a murder charge along with a firearm specification.
Family members say Russell had no connection to Smith and that nothing happened before the shooting that could explain it. Relatives described him as a devoted husband, a father of four, and a man whose religious faith guided both his family life and his work as a handyman. His wife shared that he was a steady, comforting presence who led his children with unwavering devotion every day.
The bar where the shooting took place briefly closed before reopening, with owners calling the incident a senseless act of violence.
Smith appeared in Ottawa County Municipal Court on July 23, where his bond was set at $1 million. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 31, and prosecutors say further charges may be added once the case goes before a grand jury.
A fundraiser has been organized to support Russell’s grieving family as they cope with the sudden loss.