COLUMBUS – Police are looking for three men in connection with a deadly shooting during a robbery attempt on the Northeast Side Saturday night.
UPDATE 6/28/22 5:49 a.m.: This article has been updated with new information throughout
Investigators say Neal Smith had just made a purchase at a store and was walking to his home a short distance away when the three men tried to hold him up, shooting him and a 34-year-old woman who was standing nearby during the incident, according to Sgt. James Marable of the Columbus police homicide unit.
Smith, 24, died at Grant Medical Center while the injured woman was listed in stable condition at OSU Medical Center East, Marable said.
Marable says, while Smith was in the market at approximately 10:00 p.m., three men can be seen on surveillance video closely watching him as the clerk handed him his change.
As Smith walked away from the market, the men followed him in a car and two of the suspects got out of the car near the intersection of Argyle Drive and Woodland Ave., two of the men got out of the car and confronted him.
Witnesses told police they heard Smith yell, “Just take it!” followed almost immediately by gunfire, Marable said.
Smith ran after being shot before collapsing, Marable said.
The two men ran back to the vehicle, believed to be a Chevy Malibu with damage to the passenger side rear, which drove away southbound on Woodland Avenue.
Realizing she had been shot, the woman also ran a short distance before falling.
Investigators believe the suspects decided to rob Smith since they knew he had cash after observing him in the store.
This is the 61st homicide in Columbus Ohio in 2022, Marable said.
Anyone with information regarding the incident, is asked to call or email, Detective Kelley at 614-645-0907 or tkelley@columbuspolice.org. Anonymous tips can also be called into Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477).
14-year-old charged in slaying of another teen surrenders
A 14-year-old boy facing criminal charges for allegedly stabbing another 14-year-old to death turned himself in to Columbus police over the weekend, authorities said.
Ti Juan Almanzar had been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death of old Martaires Taylor on June 14, Marable said.
Almanzar surrendered Sunday at Columbus police headquarters, Marable said.
The fatal stabbing apparently stemmed from an ongoing dispute involving a group of juveniles.
Marable says Taylor was confronting at least one of the individuals also involved in the dispute when the stabbing occurred. Taylor died at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.