COLUMBUS – Hours before the city recorded the 100th homicide of 2021, Columbus City Council outlined the latest phase of campaign to improve neighborhood safety and advance police reforms, and Mayor Andrew Ginther’s administration announced the deployment of additional technology to combat gun violence.
A 29-year-old man killed in a shooting at a West Side bar early Thursday became the latest victim of gun violence in the city.
UPDATE 7/22/21 10:00 a.m.: Police say Clyde Littlefield, 21, has been charged with murder and Logan Besse, 22, has been charged with illegal possession of a concealed firearm in a liquor-controlled premise in connection with this incident. Both suspects are still at large.
Edward Hunter was shot to death during a fight with another man at the Lounge, 945 Sullivant Avenue, just after 2:00 a.m., Sgt. Edward Powell of the Columbus police Homicide Unit said.
Witnesses at the scene told investigators that Hunter was involved in an altercation when the other an pulled a handgun and fired several rounds, Powell said.
Hunter was pronounced dead at the scene.
In 2020, Columbus did not experience its 100th homicide until September and went on to see a record 174 homicides before the year was out.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477).
The shooting came within hours of City Council’s announcement of proposals to reduce gun violence, combat human trafficking and address “quality of life issues” such as riding of all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes and other noise-related issues.
Council is partnering with the Division of Fire to provide access to free gun locks. Beginning next week, any adult will be able to obtain a gun lock, no questions asked, from any fire stations.
Council has also approved more than $1.1 million in legislation to support employment, leadership, enrichment, and empowerment programs for Black women and girls.
Hearings are scheduled to begin later this month on a variety of measures aimed at reducing crime and reforming the Division of Police.
City Council also plans to implement a “duty to Intervene” policy, which would require that all Columbus police officers “exhaust all alternatives before using lethal force” and obligates officers on the scene to intervene and report any violations.
New guidelines would prohibit the use of control agents, such as pepper spray, and “specialty impact munitions” against non-violent protestors.
Additional legislation increases penalties for those convicted of soliciting prostitutes while also investing $480,000 in service organizations dedicated to assisting victims of human trafficking and residents who struggle with addiction.
Meanwhile, the gunfire detection system ShotSpotter has been expanded to three square miles of territory on the Near East side, in addition to the nine square miles in the Hilltop, Linden and South Side where it has been deployed since February 2019.
As gunfire is detected by ShotSpotter’s acoustic sensors, a notification is sent directly to neighborhood patrol officers which pinpoints the specific location in which the gunfire originated, allowing officers to respond to gunfire before 911 is called, Deputy Chief Richard Bash said.