COLUMBUS – Two people were killed in weekend shootings in Columbus, including three that injured an 8-year-old girl and two teens.
Both fatal shootings occurred on freeways, police said.
UPDATE 5/17/22 10:41 a.m.: This article has been updated to include information about an additional homicide under investigation.
UPDATE 5/20/22 7:52 a.m.: Police have announced an arrest in this homicide.
Police have arrested a man and charged him with murder in the death of a 56-year-old man who was shot while he was driving northbound on I-71 on the Northeast Side late Saturday night, according to Sgt. David Shimberg of the Columbus police homicide unit.
Michael Thilat, 29 was arrested after providing a statement to investigators and taken to the Franklin County Jail, accused of shooting Anthony Luney to death, Shimberg said.
Officers called to the scene on the northbound side of the interstate, north of Morse Road at 11:45 p.m. Saturday found inside his vehicle where he was pronounced dead by Columbus Division of Fire personnel, Shimberg said.
UPDATE 5/17/22 7:14 a.m.: This article has been edited to include information on the fatal shooting on state Route 104
A man was shot to death in the westbound lanes of state Route 104 in an incident that kept the highway partially closed during the Monday morning commute while police investigated the shooting.
Officers called to the westbound lanes of state Route 104 at Haul Road on a report of a motor vehicle accident at 2:39 a.m. Monday found a vehicle which had struck the barrier in the median, Sgt. James Marable of the homicide unit said.
The officers Brandon Joiner, 33, a short distance away from the crashed vehicle suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Franklin Township fire personnel, Marable said.
Investigators do not know what prompted the shooting.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477).
These fatal shootings raised the homicide total in Columbus for the year to 47.
UPDATE: The 45th homicide of the year occurred Thursday when officers found a 53-year-old man dead from an apparent a drug overdose at an address in the 100 block of Cooke Road, Sgt. Edward Powell III said.
Jack Shifman was discovered at approximately 7:18 p.m. and the Franklin County Coroner’s Office investigated the death an overdose but suspicious injuries discovered on Friday led police to treat the death as a homicide, Powell said.
An 8-year-old girl was injured in a city park when someone fired a weapon during a brawl between two groups of women Saturday, police said.
A 28-year-old man has been arrested on a charge of felonious assault after he reportedly opened fire during a fight at Weinland Park, in the 1200 block of Summit Street, at approximately 6:17 p.m., in which the combatants used Mace and knives, Sgt. Doug Jones of the felony assault unit said.
The girl was taken to an area hospital with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Jones says she was upgraded from critical condition to stable condition following surgery.
A 13-year-old boy is expected to survive after being shot outside a Franklinton home early Sunday morning, Jones said.
The teen was found lying outside of the residence in the 800 block of Greenfield Drive with a single gunshot wound to the chest at 3:25 a.m.
He was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in critical condition and was upgraded to stable conditions following surgery.
A 17-year-old boy was shot at approximately 3:15 p.m. Friday, along with a 20-year-old man, while they were in a vehicle in the 1000 block of Vista Avenue, Powell said.
Altogether, at least 14 people were shot in a dozen incidents in Columbus over the weekend, including an 18-year-old who was shot during a fight outside a bar near the Ohio State campus early Saturday and a man police say was shot by a resident of home during a burglary attempt.
Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to call the Columbus Police Felony Assault Unit at 614-645-4141 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477).