COLUMBUS – A 26-year-old man was hospitalized after being shot by a Columbus police officer outside a South Side restaurant early Thursday morning.
UPDATE 11/7/22 7:53 a.m.: The officer involved in this incident has been identified as Ofc. Thomas Hammel, a three-year veteran of the Division of Police.
Police say Raymond Hampton fired at officers in the parking lot of Tee Jaye’s Country Place, 1385 Parsons Avenue, and one of the officers returned fire.
Hampton was taken to a hospital in critical condition and was later upgraded to stable condition.
Officers responding to the area at approximately 5:13 a.m. on a report of shots fired encountered Hampton, who was armed with a gun, in the restaurant parking lot, police said.
Officers tried to de-escalate the situation and repeatedly asked Hampton to drop the weapon but he fired at the officers while standing outside the restaurant. One Columbus Police officer discharged their gun.
Hampton has been charged with three counts of felonious assault.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the officer-involved shooting.
Teens hurt in accidental shooting
Two teenagers are recovering after being hit by the same bullet, which was accidentally fired while they were in a group of kids looking at the gun one of them had.
The 16-year-old boy and girl were in a group congregating in the 900 block of N. Cassady Avenue at approximately 8:15 p.m. when a handgun was brandished and an accidental gunshot was fired, striking both victims, Sgt. Scott Soha of the Felony Assault Unit said.