COLUMBUS – Police have not identified any suspects in the slaying of a man during an apparent shootout on the West Side early Saturday morning.
Officers responding to a reported shooting in the 700 block of S. Ogden Avenue at 4:30 a.m. found William Earl Howard in the front doorway of a home, suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest, Homicide Unit Sgt. Dave Sicilian said.
Howard, 26, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sicilian says the officers also found a semiautomatic handgun and noticed broken glass in the street in front of the scene, indicating that a fight had escalated to a likely gun battle between the suspects and someone, possibly Howard.
This is the 83rd homicide of the year in Columbus.
Anyone with information about this is asked to call the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS(614-461-8477).