Suspect in 2nd Polaris shooting arrested
Columbus police have arrested an East Side man suspected of firing gunshots on Monday afternoon inside Polaris Fashion Place.
Arshad Jamir Lawson, 20, of Andrus Avenue on the East Side, is charged with felonious assault and is being held at the Franklin County jail.
Police wrote in a criminal complaint filed Thursday afternoon in Delaware County Common Pleas Court that Lawson fired several shots around 3:15 p.m. Monday in a first-floor atrium area inside the Polaris mall. The incident resulted from an apparent confrontation between two groups of young people, police said.
Although police previously said no one was struck, one bullet grazed a male victim in his arm, but did not penetrate his skin, according to the complaint. In a prepared news release confirming Lawson’s arrest, Columbus police indicated there were at least two intended victims – a 17-year-old male and an unidentified male.
Columbus police had released additional surveillance images on Wednesday night that depicted the suspected gunman wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt, now identified by police as Lawson.
Franklin County Common Pleas Court records show Lawson has a pending case for charges of aggravated robbery, robbery, felonious assault, carrying concealed weapons and improper handling of a firearm from 2019. Court records indicate Lawson was supposed to appear for a hearing in January 2020 and did not show up, resulting in a capias warrant being issued for his arrest.
Lawson is currently being held in the Franklin County jail on those charges.
The shooting Monday was the second instance of gunfire inside Polaris this month.
Two male suspects whom police say exchanged gunfire on March 3 on the first floor of the mall remain at large. On Wednesday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced the offer of a $5,000
reward for information leading to the arrests and convictions of those two men.
Anthony Deshawn Truss Jr., 21, of Reynoldsburg, and 25-year-old Levon Sommerville, of the Northeast Side, are wanted by Columbus police and ATF in connection with the shooting that investigators have said stemmed from a domestic incident. Both men have warrants for their arrest on a charge of felony assault filed against them in Delaware County.
Meanwhile, Easton Town Center, the other major Columbus shopping attractions, also became the scene of gunfire Wednesday night.
According to Columbus police, two men said a gunshot was fired at them around 9:50 p.m. on Townsfair Way after a “verbal altercation” with a person in a silver Dodge Charger. Neither of the men was struck.
The area of the shopping complex where the situation occurred is near the Cheesecake Factory and other retail stores. There is also a parking lot in the area. Police did not identify exactly where the shot was fired. elagatta@dispatch.com @Ericlagatta