Shooting at mall reported for second time in 2 weeks
Columbus police detectives have determined that an argument between two groups of “young people” ended when one youth fired multiple gunshots inside Polaris Fashion Place on Monday afternoon — the second instance of gunfire inside the mall in two weeks.
Witnesses told Columbus detectives that the shooting — which was reported at 3:17 p.m. Monday — stemmed from a confrontation between two groups of mostly young males and perhaps one female that took place in the rotunda area on the first floor of the mall.
One of the youths fired multiple shots at a 17-yearold male and another unidentified male, police said, but no one was injured. Those involved fled the mall after the shooting, police said.
Authorities recovered multiple bullet casings at the scene and are reviewing surveillance footage provided by the mall, said Sgt. James Fuqua, a spokesman for the Columbus Division of Police.
“These are clearly young people, yet again, in our city that are committing acts of violence that are putting people in our city in danger,” Fuqua said.
Fuqua said there is no evidence at this point in the investigation to indicate Monday’s shooting was related to the shooting on March 3 when two men exchanged gunfire around 12:30 p.m. on the mall’s first floor. However, he added that “It’s too early into it so we’re not ruling anything out.”
‘I’m afraid to drive home right now’
Rebecca Sidell, 44, and her partner, Talanna Cooper, 36, both of Newark, had brought their daughter to the mall for a birthday shopping trip ahead of her 21st birthday. They arrived at the mall around 2:30 p.m. and went into a restaurant on the first floor.
Not long after, Sidell said she heard one shot, which she mistook for something being dropped. But it was followed by what she said sounded like four more gunshots.
“That’s when I realized what it was,” said Sidell, who didn’t see the shooting take place. “It sounded like the shots were right outside.”
They were directed outside by mall personnel and told about 30 minutes later by a mall manager they could leave.
“I just wanted to get my daughter out of there,” Cooper said.
Sidell and Cooper had been planning to shop with their daughter on March 3 at Polaris, but decided to shop somewhere else instead when they heard reports of the shooting that day. They said they never would have predicted another shooting would occur Monday, and the harrowing experience left Sidell visibly shaking as she waited outside the mall for her nerves to calm.
“I’m very, very anxious,” Sidell said. “I’m afraid to drive home right now.”
A mall employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said he works in a store on the first floor and was shopping on the second floor during his break when the sound of gunfire echoed through the mall.
The man said he ducked into a nearby store for cover after hearing what sounded like four shots before getting back to help another employee at his store get to safety.
Cheyanne Carter, who was at the mall, said she heard a woman yelling “No, no, no” before hearing multiple shots. She said she and the people she was with went into a store on the second floor of the mall and were ushered into a back room by employees.
“I hope everybody’s okay,” Carter said. “I’m trying to figure out why here.”
Initial police reports indicate there were witness reports of two people involved, one wearing a yellow hoodie and one wearing a blue hoodie. The suspects were reported to have fled in opposite directions.
A Columbus police helicopter was circling above the mall and a SWAT team was on the scene to help search the mall.
At 5:27 p.m., anyone who left items behind on the second floor of the mall was being allowed to go to the main entrance. Police had cleared the scene as of 6:20 p.m., according to a police division post on social media.
The mall remained closed for the remainder of Monday after the shootings.
Previous shooting, suspects
This is the second time shots have been fired inside the mall in two weeks.
Police have identified two suspects involved in a shooting that occurred March 3, both of whom remain at large.
Those suspects have been identified as 21-yearold Anthony Deshawn Truss Jr., of Reynoldsburg, and 25-year-old Levon Sommerville, of Columbus’s northeast side.
Police said the two men got into an argument inside the Carter’s/Osh Kosh B’Gosh store, located on the first floor of Polaris, around 12:30 p.m. that day. Somerville is suspected of firing at Truss inside the store, prompting Truss to return fire outside the store in the mall as Sommerville walked away, according to police.
No one was injured in the shooting.
Both men have warrants for their arrest filed in Delaware County.
About 10 minutes after Monday’s shooting was reported, a pre-scheduled social media post from Columbus police asking for help in locating Sommerville was posted on the division’s social media feeds.