CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (WCMH) -- Friday was an emotional day for a Ross County community. A funeral and procession were held for the Ohio corrections officer that was killed on Christmas morning.
According to authorities, 27-year-old inmate Rashawn Cannon is accused of assaulting and killing 62-year-old Ross County Corrections Officer Andrew Lansing.
Lansing was alone in a guard shack at the Ross Correctional Institution at the time of the attack. He had worked in corrections facilities for about 40 years.
Flags lined the parking lot of Chillicothe High School Friday as people and agencies from different states poured into the gymnasium to pay their respects.
News of Lansing's attack impacted law enforcement and people across the nation. Jessica Dragosin said it serves as a painful reminder that the men and women in uniform put their lives on the line daily.
"You never know when they're going to come home, so just make sure that you tell them that you love them," Dragosin said.
Dragosin made the hour drive from Columbus for the funeral. She said Lansing's passing hits close to home for her. Her uncle, former Lieutenant Jerry Dragosin, was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Cambridge Police Department in 1984. She said she knows this pain all too well.
"It was hard especially on Christmas, because I know how hard our Christmases have been knowing my uncle hasn't been there," Dragosin said.
Lansing's funeral procession was escorted by law enforcement from the high school's gymnasium to the Ross Correctional Institution, to Grandview Cemetery where was laid to rest.
Dragosin shared a message from her grieving family to Lansing's.
"Stay strong and let the community help you," Dragosin said.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the incident.
