COLUMBUS – With the Biden administration poised to announce a plan to rein in illegal gun sales, a violent weekend in Columbus left one person dead and 11 people, including a 3-year-old child, injured.
An unidentified man was shot and killed and his 31-year-old passenger injured in a shootout while the dead man was driving his pickup truck in the 700 block of Stelzer Road just before 10:00 p.m. Sunday, according to Sgt. James Marable of the Columbus police homicide unit.
UPDATE 4/12/22 10:31 a.m.: Police have identified the victim of this homicide as Ignacio Juarez, 45.
The pickup driver was involved in a confrontation with several other men when Marable says there was an exchange of gunfire and both men were struck by bullets.
Afterward, the pickup rolled down the street before striking an obstacle and coming to rest, Marable said.
Ignacio Juarez, 45, was pronounced dead at the scene and the injured man was taken to Grant Medical Center in stable condition, Marable said.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Columbus police homicide unit at 614-645-4730 or CrimeStoppers at 614-461-8477.
A 3-year-old boy was hurt just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday when someone fired at least 15 rounds into a home in the 1900 Block of Colin Court on the Northeast Side.
The child was listed in stable condition and is expected to survive, said Sgt. Doug Jones of the Columbus police felony assault unit.
Anyone with any additional information on this incident is encouraged to call the Felony Assault Unit at 614-645-6818 or CrimeStoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477).
A 17-year-old girl suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the leg and is expected to survive after someone fired at two separate homes in 7400 block of Canal Highlands Boulevard on the Southeast Side at approximately 9:29 p.m. Sunday, Det. David Younker of the felony assault unit said.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Younker at 614-645-4141 or CrimeStoppers at 614-461-8477.
Police were looking for a 46-year-old man they say fired several rounds from a rifle through the back door of his estranged wife’s home on the Hilltop Friday night, injuring the 41-year-old woman and two men, Sgt. Doug Jones said.
An arrest warrant was filed against Antonio Dortch, whose address was given as 5345 Karl Road, on charges of aggravated burglary and three counts of felonious assault after police say forced his way into the home in the 1400 block of Old Hickory Drive just after 10:00 p.m. and opened fire, striking the woman and two men, ages 20 and 30, who were inside the home, Jones said.
Anyone with information about these incidents, or others, is asked to contact Det. D. Younker at 614-645-4141 or Crimes Stoppers at 614-461-8477.
The outbreak of violence came as the Biden administration prepared to unveil its formal rule to rein in ghost guns. Those are privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly cropping up at crime scenes.
President Joe Biden is also expected to nominate a former U.S. Attorney from Cleveland to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
That’s according to six people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press.
The announcement of the nomination of Steve Dettlebach is expected Monday though his confirmation to lead the ATF is likely to be an uphill battle in what has become a politically fraught process.
Dettelbach is a Cleveland native who served for over six years as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio during the Obama administration.