Columbus police identify 15-year-old killed in Easton Town Center shooting
A 15-year-old teen has been identified as the person who was killed in a shooting Sunday evening at Easton Town Center.
Columbus police have arrested two 13-year-old boys in connection with the shooting. One of the suspects faces a juvenile charge of murder and the other faces a juvenile charge of obstruction of justice. The attorney and great-grandfather of the shooting suspect appeared Monday afternoon in Franklin County Juvenile Court but not the teen himself. The other teen charged appeared with his mother and an attorney.
Officers arrested the teens shortly after the shooting was first reported around 6:15 p.m. Sunday in an outdoor area at Easton Town Center. Sgt. Joseph Albert said a Columbus police officer who was working a special assignment found Ra'Shawyn Carter, 15, within 60 seconds and began giving him CPR and medical treatment.
Paramedics took Carter to Mount Carmel East hospital, where he died at 6:50 p.m. Sunday.
Police took more than 30 calls to 911 about the shooting, many of which were from people who did not see or hear the shot, but called after seeing people running or yelling about a possible active shooter at the shopping center.
An employee at the lululemon store on The Strand East, almost a block from the main mall and AMC theaters building, called to say the shooting happened outside their store and that customers and employees were in a back room with the store's doors locked.
"Someone has been shot outside of our store, yes," the employee told the dispatcher. "Everyone just saw it happen and ran to the back in fight or flight."
Around 7:35 p.m. Sunday, about 90 minutes after the shooting, Carter's mother, Trenise Turner, called police trying to find her son, according to 911 calls The Dispatch obtained Tuesday. She said her son was shot and she went to multiple hospitals trying to find him.
Another caller told dispatchers she saw two teenage boys, believed to be the suspects in the shooting, standing near the doorway of the Jimmy John's about three minutes after the shooting was reported.
"One of them had a gun," the caller said.
According to court records from Franklin County Juvenile Court released Tuesday, the 13-year-old accused of shooting Carter was seen on video pulling the trigger, running from the scene and putting the gun into a trash can at a restaurant, where police arrested him. Police say that teen also allegedly confessed to the killing.
Authorities allege the other teen, who is charged with juvenile obstruction of justice, was seen on video with the other suspect at the time of the shooting and the two were together when police arrested them. Court records allege that teen lied to investigators about knowing about the shooting.
Easton shooting: What we know about the Easton Town Center shooting on Sunday night
This is not the first time a 13-year-old has been charged with juvenile murder in Franklin County. In 2019, Juano Peyton was charged with juvenile murder after fatally shooting 14-year-old Jaykwon Sharp in an argument over a cellphone.
Ohio law does not allow 13-year-olds to be tried as adults for any charge, including murder.
About Carter
Carter played last year for the Columbus Dream football team, said Dominic Jones, president of the teams' parent organization, Legacy Youth Academy.
"He was a great kid," Jones said. "He was a part of our league last year, somebody who had a bright future, always had a smile on his face and he'll be greatly missed by our community."
Carter was a "star in the making," Jones said, and it will be hard for the community to heal from his loss.
Dispatch reporter Danae King contributed to this story.
bbruner@dispatch.com
@bethany_bruner
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus police identify 15-year-old killed in Easton Town Center shooting
