OH · August 22, 2023
Held His Family Hostage for 10 Hours, Then SWAT Set the Charge
She is 19, wedged under a bed upstairs with a dying phone, while the man downstairs paces a dark house with a shotgun - his own mother and brother barricaded in a back bedroom. Reconstructed from police bodycam footage, BCI interviews, and public records, this is the full Howland Township standoff, from the first callout to the explosive charge set on the only door the family ever uses.
Reconstructed timeline
Times from synchronized camera clocks and dispatch records.
8:13 PM
Randall points the shotgun at his brother; family scatters and barricades
Around 8:00 p.m., Fife's mother returned home to find him holding a shotgun, accusing the family of not being who they claimed to be. When his brother came downstairs, Randall pointed the shotgun at him. The brother and mother barricaded in a back bedroom; the girlfriend, upstairs, was told to…
8:24 PM
Officers arrive and take cover near the residence
Officers McDaniels and Brancaccio exit their cruisers with rifles and take cover behind a vehicle and tree near the house.
8:25 PM
Officers confirm Fife is holding a shotgun through the window
"Randall! He's this window. He's got a shotgun." Officers radio dispatch to confirm the weapon and back away from the house to establish a perimeter.
8:40 PM
Officer McDaniels reaches Fife by phone
After dispatch provides Fife's phone number, Officer McDaniels calls him. Fife answers, says "I think you know what's going on in here, man," claims he is "doing good," and hangs up roughly 40 seconds later without further explanation.
8:44 PM
Dispatch asks whether the Crisis Response Team should be activated
Dispatch asks Officer Brancaccio if he wants CRT activated; he confirms.
8:51 PM
Mahoning Valley Crisis Response Team arrives and is briefed
Tactical CRT officers arrive with gear and a ballistic shield to brief the first responding officers on the subject, family locations inside, and known weapons.
6:34 AM
Explosive breach detonated on the rear door
After a nearly ten-hour standoff and lost contact with the girlfriend upstairs, the Ohio State Highway Patrol Special Response Team detonates an explosive charge on the residence's rear kitchen door as MVCRT stages to enter.
6:35 AM
Team executes entry as gunfire erupts
"Execute, execute, execute. Go." A team member yells "Shotgun, shotgun, shotgun!" as the outer screen door briefly obstructs entry; a team member yells "Drop the gun," then a gunshot is heard followed by continuous gunfire as the team pushes into the kitchen.
6:35 AM
Officer reports being struck by gunfire
"I'm hit! I'm HIT! Let's go! Let's GO!" An officer is struck as the team retreats around the corner to assess injuries; Officer 4 is separately heard saying "Ah, fuck, I'm hit" on his own camera during the same exchange.
6:36 AM
Team reports "positive breach," shots fired and casualties, and pursues Fife toward the living room
Per the BCI Prosecutor Summary, only one spent shotshell was recovered from the scene, suggesting Fife fired once despite differing team-member accounts of how many shots he fired. As Fife retreated to the living room, he began to reload his single-shot shotgun; team members fired again as he did…
6:44 AM
Officer shows a cell phone that stopped shrapnel during the gunfight
"Saved by a fucking cell phone." An officer holds up a cell phone that appears to have absorbed shrapnel or pellet impact during the exchange.
6:44 AM
Family extracted from the residence
The mother, brother, and girlfriend are brought out of the house after the breach. An officer checks on the girlfriend on the back porch: "Are you under the bed?" - "[She] was under [the bed]." Per the BCI report, family members are seen being escorted from the residence approximately 4 minutes 43…
7:39 AM
Family witness brought to Howland Township Police Department
A family witness is driven to the police station; officers discuss seating and temporary housing logistics while waiting.
8:09 AM
Officer discusses witness transport logistics in the holding room
In an administrative room at Howland PD, officers discuss how many people need to be transported and separated, and bring paper towels to the holding room.
12:00 AM
Randall Fife dies of his injuries
Fife died of his gunshot wounds days after the shooting. A WKBN news article headline states he died on a "Friday" (August 25, 2023 was a Friday), and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's autopsy is dated the next day, August 26, 2023 - consistent with an August 25 death. This contradicts an…
12:00 AM
Prosecutor rules the officers' use of force justified; no charges filed
Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins reviewed the BCI's completed investigative file and concluded the use of deadly force by the three tactical officers who fired was legally justified because Fife posed an immediate, lethal threat by firing on them. No criminal charges were filed against…
Scene maps
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