COLUMBUS – A Franklinton man has been arrested and charged in the death of a Columbus mosque leader who was found dead on Christmas Eve.
Court documents say John Wooden Jr., 46, is in the Franklin County Jail, charged with murder in the shooting death of Mohamed Hassan Adam, according to a report by WBNS 10-TV.
Adam was reported missing on Dec. 22 and his body was found two days later inside a van near a wooded area off of Windsor Avenue.
Multiple media reports say a SWAT team arrested Wooden Feb. 18 near downtown on a federal charge of weapons possession and have now charged him with murder in Adam’s killing.
Police say ballistics tests linked a gun found in the suspect’s house to the one used to kill the imam.
2021 homicide total grows to 205
The number of homicides recorded in Columbus during 2021, already a record, grew by one when the death of a 17-year-old boy in a drive-by shooting on the West Side in April was ruled a homicide earlier this month, according to Sgt. Eric Pilya of the Columbus police Homicide Unit.
Christian Caro was a passenger in a vehicle that had been driven to the area of 5673 Larksdale Drive just after midnight on April 3, 2021, where someone in the vehicle planned to fight a resident, Pilya said.
As they approached the home, someone in a black sedan with tinted windows rolled down the driver’s side window and began firing a gun at the victim, who was struck in the head.
The victims fled and were chased by the suspect vehicle southbound on Galloway Road as the suspect continued to fire, striking the victims’ vehicle several more times.
Franklin County Deputies were flagged down and rendered aid to Caro until paramedics arrived and took him to a hospital in extremely critical condition, Pilya said.
Caro was pronounced dead on Oct. 8 as a result of the injuries inflicted in the shooting seven months earlier and the Montgomery County Coroner’s office ruled the case a homicide on Feb. 9, the 205th homicide of 2021, Pilya said.
Police have not announced any arrests or suspects in the case. Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact Columbus police.
Teen charged with bringing gun to East High School
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with carrying a concealed weapon and conveying firearms into a school safety zone after a semiautomatic pistol was found in his backpack at East High School Thursday morning, police said.
School staff detained the student in the school office and contacted police after receiving information from other students that the teen had brought a handgun to the school at 1500 E. Broad Street in his backpack, Sgt. Shaun Laird of the Columbus police Gun Crimes Unit said.
Officers and the school security officer recovered a loaded Springfield Armory 9mm pistol from the student’s backpack, Laird said.