Five homicides in first four days of 2021

COLUMBUS – The pace of violence that led to a record number of homicides in Columbus in 2020 showed little sign of slowing down in 2021.

Eighteen people – including six victims under 18 years of age – were shot during the first four days of the new year, five of them fatally.

That number includes two sisters killed by their father in a murder-suicide on New Year’s Day and man who died after being shot during an argument at a New Year’s Eve party.

Dontreol Callhoun, 19, was found lying in an alley in the 3000 block of Azelda Street in North Linden at 7:15 p.m., suffering from gunshot wounds, and died at Riverside Hospital, Sgt. James Marable of the Homicide Unit said.

The circumstances leading to the murder are currently under investigation.

Calhoun was the fifth murder victim of 2021.

The fourth homicide of the year was the shooting death of a 21-year-old man in the parking lot of a Northeast Side apartment complex late Saturday night.

Marable says Christopher Gillikin left the home of an acquaintance residence to meet an unknown party in the parking lot and was found by officers at 11:45 p.m.

He died early Sunday morning at Riverside Methodist Hospital.

It is unknown at this time whether the persons Gillikin was meeting with were responsible for shooting him, Marable said.

Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to call Columbus Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477).

There were 174 homicides in Columbus last year, the most in the city’s history.

Two 17-year-old boys and a 16-year-old were among 10 males and two females shot in nine separate incidents between Friday and Monday.