Celebratory gunfire spurs police calls
Many Columbus residents apparently failed to heed pleas from police because hundreds fired guns to usher in the new year between late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
Dispatchers for city police fielded 341 notifications of gunshots, Deputy Chief Michael Woods stated in a social posting repeated from Commander Chris Bowling. That tally was as of 4 p.m. Wednesday. No injuries were reported. That was not the case in Cleveland, where a woman was killed by what was described as celebratory gunfire just after midnight; her 38-year-old boyfriend was arrested.
A number of the shots fired in Columbus were detected by Shotspotter, which has sensors in neighborhoods on the Hilltop and the South Side and in Linden. Columbus police said they were going to follow up on those reports.
Woods and Columbus Health Commissioner Mysheika Roberts had put out a public service announcement before the holiday asking that people not fire their guns because doing so is dangerous and illegal.
Looking back a year, between 9 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2018, and 3 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2019, there were 711 calls about fireworks, shots fired, a person with a firearm, or a shooting, Columbus police said. That tally was reported on Jan. 2, 2019.
One major incident a year ago involved a felonious assault charge against a North Linden man accused of shooting a neighbor who had asked him not to fire a gun to welcome the new year.
In Grove City, meanwhile, police handled a case in the first minutes of this new year.
A Grove City police officer happened to be in the 3000 block of Addison Drive about 12:10 a.m. Wednesday when, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records, David K. Morgan, 45, of London, Ohio, walked out of the front door of his girlfriend’s apartment and fired off approximately 15 shots with his handgun.
When questioned by the officer, Morgan admitted having drunk 2 1 /2 to 3 beers and fired his gun, court records say. He was charged with discharge of a firearm near a prohibited premises and using weapons while intoxicated.