A man has been arrested and charged with the murder of three men whom he shot in an Ohio bar over the weekend. One of the men was an off-duty police officer who was celebrating his birthday with his two friends who were also shot and killed.

Reports claim that the three men began to argue with the shooter after he punched the off-duty officer’s wife. The shooter, who was identified as 33-year-old Igmidio Mista of Fremont, Ohio, pulled out a gun and shot four men. The three men who died were 26-year-old Elmore police Officer Jose Andy Chavez, 28-year-old bartender Ramiro Sanchez, and a 25-year-old customer, Daniel Ramirez. The fourth man shot was 25-year-old Ramiro Arreola, who was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Witnesses claim that the shooter had been at the bar for some time and had been involved in another fight that same night. After his altercation with Chavez and his friends, the shooter left the bar and came back in with a gun and started shooting.

Chavez had been at a birthday party for his young daughter earlier in the day and had agreed to go to the bar with friends to celebrate his own birthday, which was earlier in the week. Mrs. Chavez was not shot during the incident but did confirm that she had been punched by the shooter earlier in the night.

Police arrested Mista at his home in Fremont after meeting with a relative outside. They were able to take Mista into custody without incident. A judge chose to hold Mista without bail on Monday. Mista is not a U.S. citizen and the judge was afraid he may try to evade the police if allowed out on bail. His records showed that he had done so in the past.

Sgt. Jeffrey Harrison of the Elmore Police Department said that officer Chavez had been employed with the police department for over two years and was an “exemplary” officer. He left behind a wife and two small children.

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