EAST LIVERPOOL — There still are many unanswered questions as the public tries to understand the incident that left two dead and a third person hospitalized on Wednesday afternoon in St. Clair Township.

Marcy Patton, the executive director of the Columbiana Mental Health and Recovery Board, was hesitant to speculate in the case of shooter Joseph Como, the Wellsville resident at the center of the tragedy, as there still is much information to be uncovered.

Earlier this month, Wellsville police had issued a warrant for Como, stemming from a Dec. 28 incident.

According to the police report, officers were dispatched to the 1200 block of Center Street, where he resided, after Erica Como called to report her son had pushed her while she and her father were delivering groceries to his apartment. She alleged Como, who was schizophrenic, had been off his meds since September and charged his parents.

She alleged he had pushed her and took a swing at his father as they were exiting as he requested. She said Joseph Como pushed her a second time after she tried to intervene between him and his father, and the couple did finally exit after she got off the ground, getting in their vehicle for safety as he allegedly brandished a knife near the front door.

Upon arrival, police attempted to get Como’s side of the story; however, he refused to answer the door, resulting in an on-call prosecutor just advising to not enter but charge him with domestic violence for the incident.

When contacted Thursday, Wellsville Police Chief Ed Wilson indicated little familiarity with Como, who apparently hadn’t lived in the village long, beyond that his parents were from Calcutta.

Until Wednesday, Como’s most noteworthy encounter also was in St. Clair Township, where he resided on Highland Drive with his parents.

Former East Liverpool Municipal Court Judge Melissa Byers-Emmerling had ordered forensic sanity and competency evaluations for Como in September 2015, after he was arrested for inducing panic, obstructing official business and aggravated menacing, after St. Clair Township police responded twice to his residence and he had threatened to kill himself with a gun.

According to an article in The (East Liverpool) Review, police finally tracked Como to the local Sheetz, which was close to his residence, before chasing him to a nearby funeral home.

During the investigation headed by Joe Brophey, East Liverpool’s K-9 team of Chad Tatgenhorst and Ivo found a loaded handgun with the hammer cocked in the Central Parking (now Consumers) Bank lot across the street from Huntington.

The article recounts how “Como stood in the street, threatening to shoot himself and telling officers they would have to ‘cut (him) down’ in order to take him into custody.”

Activities at three nearby churches, a children’s gymnastics studio and day care were placed in lockdown.

Ultimately Byers-Emmerling agreed to the evaluations requested by the defense attorney, who alleged Como had been pistol whipped, causing severe head trauma and the erratic behavior. No additional information could be obtained regarding this incident.

The article detailed how his family said Como’s behavior changed over the past year and a half, including his belief that he was a prophet and savior.

As a result of the findings, Como was ordered to go to Heartland Behavioral Health in Massillon, where he stayed for two months before Byers-Emmerling ruled he was once again competent and fined him $200 plus costs for inducing panic and aggravated menacing with 180 days in jail, 94 suspended.

He eventually was transferred to unsupervised probation on Oct. 5, 2017, according to Columbiana County’s online case docket.

Erica Como was uniquely qualified to evaluate any possible mental illness. According to the Help Hotline of Northeast Ohio’s website and her Linked In page, she is the director of peer support services for that agency, which typically handles calls for mental health assistance in Columbiana County.

“(Typically) employees of an agency would not be providing services to family members as part of their work duties, as this would violate ethical standards,” said Marcy Patton, executive director of the Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board (MHRSB).

Patton declined to comment on this particular case as there is so little information available yet and due to HIPAA concerns.

However, she did explain that “suicide by cop,” as it is popularly known, or “law enforcement force assisted suicide” is a term used by police officers for incidents when an individual who is bent on killing himself forces the police to use deadly force, as defined by the Office of Justice Programs. In Wednesday’s case, not enough is known to justify defining it as such.

For crisis intervention, call the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988, text “4hope” (741741) or visit 988lifeline.org, which is viewable in either English or Spanish.