Several people were shot early Saturday morning in four distinct incidents in different parts of Columbus, and two people were killed. Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant stated Saturday morning that several people remained in severe condition at a nearby hospital.
At about 2:30, reports of gunfire were made to police in the 600 block of High Street. “more shots were fired a short distance away from the original location,” the Columbus police said in a statement after they arrived at the scene.
Police officers went to the second location and exchanged fire with the suspects. There were other victims of gun violence between the two locations, albeit the police report did not specify who fired the shots.
On Saturday morning, Bryant told reporters that no police officers had been hurt in the incident. Bryant referred to the mental health of her officers by saying, “I say ‘physically,’ because obviously, it takes a toll on them when things like this occur.”
Bryant went on to say that less than an hour later, another shooting occurred in the 1400 block of St. Clair Avenue, again in the South Linden area. According to the chief, a total of five persons were shot and killed here, one of whom shot himself.
Bryant said the person—whose identity has not been disclosed—was the suspect. Two more casualties were listed as being in critical condition, while a third was listed as being in stable condition. Then, at 4:41 a.m., officers were summoned to the 500 block of East Whittier Street due to another gunfire.
One victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition but eventually passed away. The identity of the person is still being kept secret. Bryant stated that her team did not know if the incidents were related to one other, but she did express her opinion on the abundance of firearms in Columbus.
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“We need to figure out how do we get control of this gun situation?” she said. “Why does it seem like everyone has a gun on them?” To clear up any confusion, ABC 6 is reporting that there were four separate shootings: two on High Street, one on St. Clair Avenue, and two on East Whittier Street.
According to ABC 6, residents of High Street reported hearing at least 30 gunshots. They all know that after twelve o’clock in the morning, bad things start happening, as one of them put it. Hayden Marshall stated, “To this day, that rings true.”
According to ABC 6’s Jessica Ralston, over forty spent round casings were found at the High Street scene, marked by dozens of evidence markers. She also said that early on Saturday morning, those who looked like they worked at a restaurant were turned away and instructed to go home.
One of them stated to Ralston, “I guess I won’t be working here today.” He had shown up for his first day of work. Ralston demonstrated a bullet hole in the window of Lemongrass during a Saturday morning live broadcast on ABC 6. The Hyde Park Steakhouse, the Le Meridien Hotel, and the Local Cantina are all within a short distance of the shooting scene.
A High Street resident told ABC 6’s Kate Siefert that he was not shocked to see police tape in his area on Saturday morning because he had heard gunshots the previous two weekends. “It’s not a shock,” the man said, adding that he’s still not scared to live where he lives.
“You mind your own business and have your wits about you. It’s not the people who live here. It’s the people who come down here to drink.” The individual also provided law enforcement with two recommendations. “I don’t understand why we don’t have cameras,” he said.
“Police are doing the best they can, but they need more help.” The manager of W Nail Bar on High Street, McKenzie Stickney, has announced the salon would be closed indefinitely. “We were scared,” she told ABC 6.
“We definitely feel for the people who have been impacted by this. For now we’re closing. It’s kind of to be determined depending on what the police say. We’re hoping to open but also want to be very respectful of what happened.”
BCI will be in charge of the investigation into the shooting on High Street because police officers were involved. The shootings in other locations will be looked at by Columbus police.
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