COLUMBUS – Police say a Hilliard-area man admitted that he was playing with a firearm while intoxicated when he accidentally shot a man he described as his step-brother to death on the Hilltop Friday night.
HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION:
…The initial investigation revealed that the suspect, 45-year-old Michael Tennihill, was handling a loaded gun, after an afternoon of drinking, and inadvertently discharged the weapon striking his "step brother" in the torso.See attached news release: pic.twitter.com/1oqQoRBIhq
— Columbus Division of Police (@ColumbusPolice) September 28, 2019
Michael Tennihill, 45, allegedly told Homicide Unit detectives he was handling a loaded firearm after an afternoon of drinking at a home in the 100 block of S. Harris Avenue when he accidentally fired the gun, striking Bernard Stoops, Jr., 48, in the torso, Sgt. Jeffrey Strayer said.
Members of Stoops’ family witnessed the incident and backed up Tennihill’s version of events, Strayer said.
Officers found Stoops lying on the ground at the rear of the address, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound at approximately 8:38 p.m., Strayer said.
Columbus paramedics took Stoops to Grant Medical Center where Strayer says he was pronounced dead at 10:41 p.m.
The investigation continues, though Tennihill was charged with reckless homicide.
This is the 80th homicide of the year in Columbus.