COLUMBUS – With 40 days left, 2017 was within 20 homicides of becoming the deadliest year in Columbus history.
Two more murders were added to the year’s tally Tuesday when two men were killed in separate incidents, according to Homicide Unit detectives.
That brought the total number of homicides in Columbus in 2017 to 120, the second highest since 139 were recorded in 1991.
Top 5 years for homicides in Columbus
1. 1991 (139)
2. 2017 (120 – as of Nov. 22)
3. 1992 (113)
3. 2003 (110)
4. 2016 (106)
5. 1993/2010 (105)
-Source: Columbus Div. of Police
One man, whose name was not released early Wednesday morning, was killed in a double shooting on the Far West Side at approximately 6:54 p.m., which also left one of the suspects injured, said Sgt. Stanley Latta. Officers found the victim at a home on Legacy Lane where he was pronounced dead by Columbus fire personnel.
Police found MacKenzie Litteral, 20, of London, near the intersection of Walcutt and Roberts Roads and he was taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital in serious but stable condition, Latta said.
The second suspect – Shane Michael Daley, 23, also of London — is still at large and Latta says he should be considered armed and dangerous.
A man killed in an apparent drive-by shooting in the Linden neighborhood about a half hour later became the city’s 120th homicide victim.
Witnesses told investigators that they heard a gunshot and saw a dark-colored vehicle speeding away from in front of a home in the 1000 block of Loretta Avenue, where officers found the man, suffering from a gunshot wound, at about 7:25 p.m., Sgt. Jeff Strayer said.
The man, whose name was withheld, was pronounced dead at Riverside Methodist Hospital, Strayer said.
Anyone with any information regarding these incidents is asked to call the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS(8477).