COLUMBUS – A suspect in a homicide in northwest Ohio died in a fiery crash on the West Side of Columbus Monday afternoon after firing shots at people and vehicles and leading police on a chase.
Authorities believe the man who died in the crash was Jordan Suydam, a person of interest in the death earlier in the day of Arthur Suydam III in the Hancock County town of McComb, about two hours northwest of Columbus.
Jordan Suydam, 26, fired at five people and at least two vehicles at three different locations on the West Side in the late morning and early afternoon Monday without causing any injuries before fleeing from police in his pickup truck and dying when he drove through the dead end of Phillipi Road and jumped a creek, rolling over the truck, which caught fire, according to Columbus police and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
Timeline of events:
2:47 a.m. – Arthur Suydam III found dead at 118 S. Meadow Dr., McComb. Vehicle missing. Jordan Suydam named person of interest
11:38 a.m. – Maridale Triplett and Shariq Qazalbash were in a vehicle in front of Domino’s Pizza, 5684 W. Broad Street when Jordan Suydam, exited his vehicle and fired three gunshots at them as they drove past. After firing the gunshots, Mr. Suydam got back into his vehicle and fled the scene. Triplett and Qazalbash were not injured.
12:06 p.m. – Mary Leist was walking her dog by Westgate Park near S. Westgate Avenue and Parkside Road when Suydam fired two gunshots at her and then fled the scene. She was unhurt
12:10 p.m. – Maurice Foote and Sean Dewalt were standing on the side of the road working in the area of 2254 October Ridge Drive when Suydam fired a shot at them and drove away. They were not injured
12:25 p.m. – Franklin Township Police Department officers spotted a vehicle matching the description of the one which had been involved in the shooting incidents and began to pursue the suspect
12:29 p.m. – The suspect vehicle crashes at Phillipi Road and Westward Ave. and catches fire
1:05 p.m. – The sole occupant of the pickup is pronounced dead
At approximately 12:25 p.m., Franklin Township Police Department officers spotted a maroon Dodge Ram pickup matching the description of the one which had been involved in multiple shooting incidents in West and Southwest Columbus, Chief Deputy Jim Gilbert of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said.
The officers pursued the suspect vehicle west on Clime Road and north on Georgesville Road until it crossed W. Broad Street at “a high rate of speed,” Gilbert said. Sheriff’s deputies joined the pursuit as the pickup continued northbound on Phillippi Road to the area of Fisher Road and crossed into an industrial area where it jumped over the creek at Westward Avenue and rolled over at 12:29 p.m., Gilbert said.
Deputies and Columbus police officers negotiated with the occupant, who was armed with a shotgun, but refused to surrender as the truck caught fire and an estimated 30 to 50 rounds of ammunition inside began to explode, Gilbert said.
After the fire was extinguished and Sheriff’s Office accident investigators responded to the scene, they learned the same vehicle involved in the crash was also linked to the death of Arthur Suydam in Hancock County early Monday morning, Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said.
A detective with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office says Suydam‘s vehicle was missing from the scene.
The occupant of the pickup was pronounced dead at 1:05 p.m. by Columbus fire personnel. Authorities say an autopsy will be performed to positively identify the deceased person.