Dave Chappelle: Authorities Deny Rumors of Shooting at Comedian's Ohio Home

Comedian Dave Chappelle was not involved in a shooting in Ohio, according to American Media [...]

By Michael Hein

Comedian Dave Chappelle was not involved in a shooting in Ohio, according to American Media reporter Mary K. Jacobs. The Yellow Springs Police Department confirmed that there was no shooting at Chappelle's house, and Chappelle was not involved in any other incidents on Wednesday.

A shooting in Greene County, Ohio, left two people dead on Wednesday, according to a report by local CBS News affiliate WHIOTV7. The local sheriff Gene Fischer described the scene as a "shoot-out" on Grinnell Road, right near Yellow Springs.

"I've not seen anything like this," Fischer confessed.

As news of the shooting spread, a social media rumor somehow propagated the story that Chappelle was was involved in the shooting -- and was perhaps even killed in it. Reporters in contact with the police department quickly squashed this falsehood.

Chappelle has lived in Ohio for years, far from the busy world of Hollywood or New York where many of his colleagues reside. His recent stand-up comedy specials on Netflix feature plenty of jokes about his rural home, so fans may have had Chappelle on the mind when news of the shooting broke. Thankfully, it sounds like Chappelle and his family are safe.

The shooting reportedly took place at 11:10 a.m. local time, at a house on Grinnell Road. Police said the two people who lived at the house were not injured.

Guns are more prevalent in Ohio than other parts of the country, but a local resident told reporters that she knew these gunshots had nothing to do with hunting when she heard them. She said she heard four shots, and she could tell they came from a large gun, not a hunting rifle.

"People shoot guns in the Glenn all the time, but it's past hunting season it was a big gun and went on for several seconds, and the yelling," the anonymous witness said, according to WHIOTV7. "It was clear there was some kind of personal conflict."

Sheriff's deputies said that Grinnell Road will be closed at least until nightfall on Wednesday, and perhaps later. They are hopeful that there is surveillance footage of the shooting, according to Fischer, but there is still plenty of investigating to be done before the scene is clear. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has been requested at the scene as well.

"I would not expect us to have a shootout on Grinnell Road in the middle of a cornfield in Yellow Springs," the nearby resident said.

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