COLUMBUS, Ohio – A pair of fatal shootings got the Memorial Day weekend off to a violent start in Columbus.
Looking to buy a mini-bike, Eric Mitchell, 18, went to a mobile home at 1578 Anchor Drive East, on the Southeast Side, just before 4:00 p.m. Friday afternoon, when he got into an argument with two black men, detectives said. One of them pulled a gun and shot Mitchell, who died later at the hospital.
Police describe the suspect as in his late teens to early twenties, medium height with a thin build and short dreadlocks, wearing a gray hoodie and black pants.
Shortly after 9:00 p.m., police say 911 dispatchers received a hang-up call from 1285 E. 17th Avenue. Officers located Donald Wade, 52 inside the home with a gunshot wound to the upper body.
He was pronounced dead about an hour and a half later at OSU Medical Center.
UPDATE: A warrant was filed on Wednesday for Julian Phillips, 25, on one count of murder in this case.
Mitchell and Wade are the 39th and 40th homicide victims of 2014 in Columbus.
Anyone with any information on either incident is asked to contact the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Crime Stoppers at 614-645-TIPS.