COLUMBUS – Columbus police say officers fatally shot an armed man who was fleeing and refused to drop a gun on the West Side early Sunday morning.
Marese Collins, 23, was shot multiple times around 12:30 a.m. behind a home in the 500 block of Whitethorne Avenue on the Hilltop, police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner said.
Weiner says officers responding to a report of an armed man threatening others in the area of 700 Whitethorne Avenue were told the man fled the neighborhood in a dark colored SUV.
A police cruiser followed a speeding SUV that matched the description until the driver stopped and fled on foot.
After a police helicopter spotted a vehicle matching the description leaving the area at a high rate of speed, a marked cruiser began to follow, Weiner said.
The vehicle stopped and the driver jumped out and fled on foot, said Weiner. After several minutes, Collins was detained in the rear of 504 Whitethorne Avenue.
Five officers converged on the armed suspect and gave numerous commands to the suspect to drop the gun. Witnesses confirmed hearing the officers’ commands, Weiner said.
Weiner says Collins disregarded the officers’ commands and was shot.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The incident will be investigated by the Critical Incident Response Team, made up of specially trained investigators from the Homicide Unit and the findings will be forwarded to the Firearms/Police-Involved Death Review Board and senior division officials for review, Weiner said.