MENTOR, Ohio (WOIO) – It’s been a year since an active shooter opened fire at Mentor Green Mobile Estates in Mentor.

RELATED: 4 dead, including gunman, in shooting at Mentor mobile home park

Four people died that day, including the gunman who took his own life.

For a 90-year-old mobile home park resident who lived just two doors down from the shooter, November 16, 2023 will always haunt him.

The resident asked 19 News not to use his name. But he says he witnessed a neighbor save his life — he was shot when that neighbor went outside to try to help property manager Laura Colon, 62, who later died of his injuries. “The neighbor came out and looked at her and wanted to see if she was still alive. So when he came out and looked, that’s when he got shot. I was in his trailer and it really scared me — so I dropped to the floor. I didn’t know what was happening or when it was going to end.”

The gunman, Jason Norris, 47, who lived in caravan 84, had been served with an eviction notice earlier in the day. His actions claimed the lives of the property manager and two other residents, Terrance Mathis, Sr., 63, and Thomas Galiza. The other man who was injured was briefly hospitalized and released.

RELATED: Mentor police identify victims after shooting leaves 4 dead, including gunman

At least 30 residents of the mobile home park were evacuated for their own safety and multiple SWAT teams were called in to help.

Mentor Police and all first responders that day saved lives. Police were on the scene just two minutes after the first 911 call.

The 90-year-old resident who still lives there says he was in his car when the property manager was killed and to this day doesn’t know why he didn’t just drive out of the park. But his neighbor saw him and pushed him into his trailer, where he remained safely.

But even a year after the deadly tragedy, the trailer 84 that belonged to the shooter remains on the property at Mentor Green Mobile Estates. The windows were still shattered by the gunfire – a painful and disturbing reminder of a tragedy that changed lives forever.

Copyright 2024 WOIO. All rights reserved.