There have been 8 shootings involving Franklin County police agencies in 2024. Here's what we know
There have been eight shootings involving local law enforcement in Franklin County in 2024, seven of which have been deadly.
The most recent occurred Tuesday afternoon on the city's Far East Side.
Reported stabbing preceded shots fired on Hoskins Way
Columbus police received multiple 911 calls around 2:55 p.m. Tuesday about a man who was stabbing people inside a home on the 300 block of Hoskins Way on the city's Far East Side.
Sgt. James Fuqua said officers who went to the home confronted a man on the front steps who was holding a knife. The man ignored multiple commands from the officers to drop the knife, Fuqua said, and an officer attempted to use a stun gun to subdue the man.
The stun gun missed, at which point, at least one officer fired their weapon, Fuqua said. It is unclear if the bullet struck the suspect, who has not been identified.
A stun gun was used for a second time and was able to successfully subdue the man, who was taken into custody and then to an area hospital. Fuqua said the man's condition was stabilized at the hospital.
The man also appeared to have a self-inflicted wound.
At least three other people had stab wounds, including an elderly man, Fuqua said. All of those victims were taken to area hospitals in stable condition and are expected to survive.
Noel Hernandez was shot by Columbus police officers after running towards them with a blade
Noel Hernandez, 35, was fatally shot by police at about 11:15 p.m. June 10. Officers were responding to a report of someone armed with a knife in the area of Georgesville Road and Clime Road when they found Hernandez standing outside his SUV in the street with an “edged weapon,” according to the Columbus Division of Police.
Hernandez ignored commands in English and Spanish to drop the weapon, got in his vehicle and drove away, police said.
Hernandez drove at a slow speed and twice exited the vehicle with the knife in his hand. At his final stop at the intersection of Sullivant Avenue and Industrial Mile road, five Columbus police officers exited cruisers and approached him, body camera footage shows.
Hernandez then approached officers with the weapon in his hand while waving his arms and continuing to ignore commands, footage shows. Officers said they fired a Taser twice. Hernandez began running toward officers, and five of them fired on him, the department said. Footage shows he was struck multiple times in the torso.
It’s not clear whether Hernandez was having a mental health crisis or using drugs at the time of the shooting. It’s also not clear what object he was holding in his hand. Officials have described it as a makeshift edged weapon with a hooked end.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said at a press conference that earlier in the day, the department received a call from someone concerned that Hernandez was having a mental health episode. Officers made contact with Hernandez, but he told them he was fine and officers had no cause to take further action, Bryant said.
Bryant also said the city’s rapid response unit, which pairs police and Columbus Public Health clinicians to respond to crises, was not available at the time of the shooting. Clinicians wouldn’t be brought in until the scene was secured, she added.
Rafael Warfield, 21, died after firing a shot during a mental health call
Officers responded to the 6800 block of Georges Creek Drive for a report of a man with a gun threatening to harm himself and those around him just after 4 a.m. on May 16, according to the Columbus Division of Police.
When officers arrived at the apartment complex on the Southeast Side near Gender Road, Warfield fired at least one shot, body camera footage shows. An officer with a rifle fired back, shooting between eight and ten times.
It’s not clear whether Warfield was firing at officers or himself based on the video. Columbus police initially said Warflield died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but retracted the statement after a police union official said it wasn’t clear whether Warfield died from shooting himself or from shots fired by officers.
Ali Hamsa Yusuf was shot by law enforcement following an Amazon warehouse shooting
Ali Hamsa Yusuf, 22, fired twice at his supervisor at about 4:20 p.m. on May 12 at an Amazon warehouse facility in West Jefferson, police said. Yusuf was a security guard trainee at the facility, where he worked as a contractor. No one was hurt, and Yusuf fled in his vehicle.
Law enforcement officers from Franklin Township, Columbus police and undercover Madison County Sheriff's deputies later surrounded Yusuf's vehicle at the intersection of Georgesville and Clime North roads on Columbus’ West Side at about 6:15. He got out of the vehicle and fired at the Columbus police officer behind him, striking him in his bulletproof vest.
The officer was not seriously injured, Bryant said at a press conference. Yusuf ran to the rear of his car, and officers fired, striking and killing Yusuf.
Security footage from the Amazon warehouse shows Yusuf fired at his supervisor’s head from behind, execution style, from about three feet away. Police said Yusuf’s gun likely jammed and he missed. He was not supposed to be armed, and would’ve had to smuggle the gun inside, police said.
Corey Roach was shot dead by Columbus police following a domestic violence killing
On May 11, Columbus police officers responded around 7:05 p.m. to a domestic violence and shots fired call on the 4700 block of McAllister Avenue on the city's East Side. The officers immediately came under fire from a man with a rifle later identified as Corey Roach, 50, police said.
Officers took cover behind vehicles in a driveway and returned fire, body camera footage shows. After running across the street to another house, officers returned to the original location. A resident there told officers the man firing at them had been shot, and body camera footage showed Roach suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Medics transported Roach to Mount Carmel East Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:50 p.m.
Nicole Pleasant, 45, who police say lived with Roach in a residence on the 1000 block of Lockwood Road, was found shot to death there and pronounced dead at 7:18 p.m. by medics on the scene. Police say Roach shot her multiple times.
Santiago Elias Alfaro Munoz was shot after police say he reached for a gun
Whitehall Police Department officers were conducting a traffic stop when they heard gunfire at about 2 a.m. on April 19, police said. A minute later, the department's gunshot detection system also alerted them to a shooting.
Whitehall police said the officers went to Roses Discount Store's parking lot in the 4600 block of East Main Street, near South Hamilton Road. They came across two vehicles, one of which had left and a second silver Honda Pilot SUV. The officers checked on the two men inside.
Santiago Elias Alfaro Munoz, 36, was in the passenger seat, and William Morales Villatoro, 36, was in the driver’s seat. The two told officers they had no drugs or guns on them, but one of the officers noticed a handgun in the backseat, body camera footage showed.
Officers told the men to put their hands up. Villatoro complied and was removed from the vehicle and placed in handcuffs. Munoz did not move until an officer opened the car door, when he reached toward the backseat and quickly swiveled back toward the officer at the passenger side of the vehicle.
Both officers opened fire, killing Munoz. A gun was recovered next to him in the vehicle, according to court records.
Villatoro was charged with improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony.
Colin Jennings was shot after telling officers to shoot him while approaching with a knife
At about 9:30 a.m. Feb 27, Columbus police responded to a call about a man having a mental health crisis on the 500 block of North Nelson Road.
Colin Jennings, 26, walked toward officers holding a large knife, body camera footage shows. With the knife raised in his right hand, he could be heard in the footage saying “shoot me” and “I want to die.”
When Jennings continued to advance toward officers, one officer fired their gun three times and the other officer deployed a stun gun. All three gunshots struck Jennings, killing him.
At a press conference, Columbus police Sgt. Rich Brooks said the stun gun was likely not effective because a thick jacket Jennings was wearing prevented the stun gun’s barbs from making contact with his skin.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Tuesday's police shooting the 8th in Franklin County in 2024
