COLUMBUS – An argument that broke out during a graduation ceremony at the Greater Columbus Convention Center Saturday morning escalated into violence outside the venue, leaving a man hospitalized with a gunshot wound.
Columbus police officers and fire personnel responding to the area of 350 N. High Street at 10:28 a.m. found an unidentified man suffering from a gunshot wound. Sgt. Dave Sicilian, Homicide Unit first shift supervisor, says the man was taken to the hospital in stable condition and is expected to survive.
Investigators determined that some type of altercation between the victim and at least one other male subject broke out during the ceremony inside the convention center and continued outside where it turned into a physical altercation which eventually moved out into the middle of the street in front of the Hyatt Hotel, Sicilian said.
Another man pulled a handgun and fired a shot, striking the victim, and driving away in what may have been a red Toyota with a temporary license plate. The suspect was described as a male black with a shaved head and beard, wearing a dark colored t-shirt with writing on the front and light-colored shorts, Sicilian said.
He should be considered armed and dangerous.
The investigation continues
Anyone with any information on the incident is asked to call the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Crime Stoppers at 645-645-TIPS (8477).