Columbus police seek two 'persons of interest' in fatal shooting at Far West Side gym
The Columbus Division of Police on Thursday released still photos of two people they described as "persons of interest" in the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old man at a gym on the city's Far West Side near Hilliard.
Tabias Cunningham, 23, of the Far West Side, was found by police suffering from multiple gunshot wounds at the Esporta Fitness club off Hilliard Rome Road shortly after 8:45 p.m. Tuesday. He was taken to Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center, where he died at 9:37 p.m.
"We are in the very early stages of investigation, but we are in need of help from the community, from friends and family of Tabias and also anyone else that might have been present at the gym that would have information on this unfortunate incident," said Cmdr. Mark Denner of the division's homicide bureau.
Denner said the two people in the photos were present during the shooting of Cunningham. He urged those with information to call homicide detectives at 614-645-4730 or the Central Ohio Crime Stoppers hotline at 614-461-TIPS (8477).
"It's the right thing to do and for anybody who is hesitant to come forward and share information, I would just ask yourself to think if this was your family, how would you want people to respond and would you want people to come forward with information or not?" Denner said.
According to social media posts, Cunningham had just turned 23 on March 23 and had a young daughter. He was originally from Mississippi.
Witnesses said the shooting took place at the club's basketball facility.
Despite departmental officials originally saying Denner would not answer questions due to the ongoing investigation, the commander answered a few during Thursday's six-minute news conference that were lobbed his way.
Asked if police have video surveillance of the shooting or of the small white car that they previously said fled the scene, Denner said, "This is all we're putting out right now."
"We'll see where things progress. But again, let's start with this, with it still being 48 hours, and we'll see if we can have a follow-up conversation," Denner said.
Asked if police have access to the gym's membership lists, Denner asked for patience.
"You guys all have very legitimate questions ... We have to have time to look into these things," Denner said.
"This was a basketball game, that's all this was," Denner said. "It did not need to come to this point."
mtrombly@dispatch.com
@monroetrombly
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus police seek two in fatal shooting at Far West Side gym
