Driver in drive-by killed by return fire

COLUMBUS – An exchange of gunfire between a drive-by gunman and his targets left the man dead and a woman injured in South Linden Wednesday night, police said.

Deshaun Malik Coffman allegedly drove by the house in the 1000 block of E. 21st Avenue shortly after 8:00 p.m., firing shots into the structure, and was fatally shot by someone in the home, Homicide Unit Sgt. Jeff Strayer said.

Witnesses who described several shots being fired into and around the residence also reported that a woman at the home had been struck by the gunfire originating from a vehicle, Strayer said.

Officers and paramedics who responded to the reports of gunfire found the injured woman, who was taken to OSU Medical Center where Strayer says she was rushed into surgery and is expected to survive.

Another call was received minutes later asking officers to respond to a nearby address where a vehicle had collided with a house and where the driver had been shot and was unresponsive, Strayer said.

Coffman, 29, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators believe Coffman drove by the house, firing multiple gunshots into the residence, which struck the 37-year-old woman whose name was not released by police.

A third person, so far unknown, returned fire at the vehicle, fatally wounding Coffman as the vehicle continued by, eventually crashing into the residence, Strayer said on E. 20th Avenue.

This is the 78th Homicide in Columbus in 2018.

No charges had been announced as of early Thursday morning and the investigation is continuing, Strayer said.

Anyone with information regarding this incident, is asked to call the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at (614) 461-TIPS.