New Carlisle News photographer Andy Grimm was shot by a Clark County deputy Monday evening.

Andy had left the office around 10:00 p.m. to take pictures of lightning.

There was a traffic stop on Main Street near Studebaker’s Restaurant involved, but Andy was not the subject of the stop.

He had his camera and tripod in his hands and Deputy Jake Shaw apparently mistook it for a weapon and fired, striking Andy in the side.

New Carlisle news photographer Andy Grimm

He was rushed to Miami Valley Hospital for surgery. He is expected to recover from his wounds.

“I was going out to take pictures and I saw the traffic stop and I thought, ‘hey, cool. I’ll get some pictures here.'” He said he pulled into Studebaker’s parking lot in full view of the deputy, got out of his Jeep in full view of the deputy and started setting up his tripod and camera. “I turned around toward the cars and then ‘pop, pop,'”

Andy said the deputy gave him no warning. “I was just doing my job,” he said.

The Attorney General’s BCI division is investigating the incident, and we will update this story as soon as they release their findings.

Andy is well known in the area for his love of photography. The outpouring of love and affection for him on Facebook has been overwhelming.

Everyone at the New Carlisle News thanks you for your support.

‘Somebody was looking out for me,’ journalist shot by Ohio deputy speaks

Andy Grimm shows bandaged wound.

UPDATE: NEW CARLISLE, Ohio (WKEF/WRGT) – News editor Andy Grimm told FOX 45’s Rhonda Moore that he isn’t upset with the officer who shot him.

Grimm said he and Deputy Jake Shaw know each other and have had several conversations. Monday night, the officer pulled another driver over and Grimm stopped to shoot pictures of that along with the lightning.

He said instead he ended up getting shot with a 40 caliber gun.

“My camera was already on the tripod,” Grimm said, “and I grabbed it like this and turned and I just hear pop, pop. I did not hear a single warning, did not hear the deputy identify himself. I said, ‘What the [bleep] Jake Shaw, you shot me dude’.”

He said Deputy Shaw came over to him.

“He said ‘oh my God Andy,’ then he made the call ‘shots fired, got a man down.’ He definitely told me, he said ‘I thought it was a gun, it thought it was a gun,'” Grimm said.

He was checked out and released from the hospital Tuesday, and said he isn’t angry with the deputy.

He’s not angry with Deputy Shaw.

“There’s so much animosity toward police officers,” Grimm said. “He was just doing his job. I think he made a bad decision. He shot somebody, an unarmed civilian. Realistically there’s going to be consequences.”

Grimm has confidence the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations will conduct a thorough investigation.

Area where Grimm was shot is cordoned off.

 UPDATE: NEW CARLISLE, Ohio (WKEF/WRGT) – The news editor of the New Carlisle News was shot Monday night after he says a Clark County deputy mistook his tripod for a weapon.

Andy Grimm spoke exclusively to FOX 45 from his home, showing us his wounds and saying “Somebody was looking out for me.” He says the bullet that hit him in his side missed vital organs.

Overnight Grimm spoke with FOX 45 from his hospital room at Miami Valley Hospital. He says he was on his way home and decided to get some photos of lightning. As he was driving, he noticed a deputy had pulled a driver over, so he stopped to check that out as well.

Grimm tells FOX 45 he left his vehicle’s lights on so the deputy could see him. His camera was in the backseat. He got out of his vehicle to get his camera and when he did, he felt a sting; he said it felt like something bit him.

“I immediately dropped to the ground, and I saw the deputy and that’s when I realized, ‘Oh man, he shot me.’ He came running over and said, ‘Oh, I thought that was a gun.'” Grimm said one bullet grazed his shoulder while another hit him in the side.

Grimm said he knows the deputy well and works with him frequently. Grimm tells FOX 45 he does not want the deputy to lose his job over the shooting.

“I was on my way to identify myself to the deputy so he didn’t think that I was sneaking up on him. I am not mad at the deputy. I just wish I would have said something before he pulled the trigger.”

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office has identified the deputy as Jake Shaw.  Shaw has been placed on administrative leave as the investigation continues. In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, the sheriff’s office says “Our hearts and prayers are with Mr. Grimm as he recovers and with Deputy Jake Shaw and we ask the community to keep both of them in your hearts and prayers as well.”

The Ohio Bureau of Crime Investigation is handling the investigation.  

This photo by Andrew Grimm is at the top of the Clark County Sheriff’s Facebook Page.

Lily Wright

Voice of Detroit editor Diane Bukowski thanks her good friend and fellow City of Detroit retiree Lily Wright, now of Cincinnati, Ohio, for alerting us to this story! Love and miss you, Lily! 

Diane under arrest

Brings back memories of my arrest by Michigan State Troopers and subsequent felony convictions on false charges of “assaulting, resisting, and obstructing” officers while I was reporting on a fatal state trooper chase in Nov. 2008 for the now defunct Michigan Citizen — retaliation for my numerous stories on police brutality and Wayne Co. Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s refusal to charge Detroit cops with murder!