COLUMBUS – Two young sisters killed by their father were among three people murdered during the first hours of the new year in Columbus.
The two girls, age 6 and 9, were shot by their father, who then committed suicide, inside in his Far West Side townhome late Friday night, Sgt. David Shimberg of the Columbus police Homicide Unit said.
Officers responding to Muirwood Village Drive on a domestic dispute just before 10:30 p.m. were directed to 885 Danwood Drive where Shimberg says they heard multiple gunshots.
When they entered the home they found Alyse Williams, 6, and Ava Williams, 9, suffering from gunshot wounds.
They also found their father, 32-year-old Aaron Williams, who was suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was later pronounced at the scene.
The children were taken to Doctor’s West Hospital where they died a little over 30 minutes apart just after midnight, Shimberg said.
The incident is still under investigation.
These were the second and third homicides of 2021 in Columbus, where a record 174 murders were recorded in 2020.
The first homicide of the year was the shooting death of a 31-year-old man during a New Year’s Eve party early Friday morning, police said.
Kenneth Palmer attended the party hosted by Derrick Green, 30, at 3713 Kimberly Parkway North where the two men argued, Sgt. James Marable said.
Palmer left but returned later in the morning, when the dispute continued and Green allegedly shot Palmer, fatally wounding him, at approximately 4:30 a.m., Marable said.
Green, described by police as homeless, was arrested and charged with murder, Marable said.
Meanwhile, police say a second suspect has been arrested in a September murder.
Tylan Sims, 22, was arrested in Florida on Dec. 30 by U.S. Marshals.
Sims and Adonis Walker, also 22, were charged with murder in the shooting death of a man in the parking lot of a store on Sunbury Road on Sept. 7, Marable said.
Walker had been arrested previously.