Columbus police investigate gunfire outside Easton
No one was injured Wednesday evening after Columbus police said an unknown male suspect opened fire on two intended targets outside the Apple store at the Easton Town Center.
Multiple witnesses called 911 around 5 p.m. to report hearing anywhere between one and six gunshots near the commercial complex’s north district, said Watch Commander Lt. Larry Yates. Columbus officers working special duty at the shopping center also heard gunfire, which they traced to the 4200 block of the Strand near Worth Avenue, according to a prepared news release from the Columbus Division of Police.
Once on scene, the officers found an undisclosed number of shell casings and also discovered that a nearby building had been hit by gunfire.
The suspected male gunman is reported to have fled the area in a silver vehicle after police said he fired at two victims — a 22-year-old man and a 19year-old woman, neither of whom were hit. No description of the suspect was immediately available.
Several nearby stores went into a temporary lockdown, but reopened soon after, Yates said.
In a statement to the Dispatch, an official at Easton Town Center confirmed that mall personnel are aware of the incident.
“Police and on-site security responded immediately,” Easton Chief Executive Jennifer Peterson said. “The incident is currently under investigation.”
Columbus shopping malls have been the scenes of multiple reported shootings this year, including at Easton, which has hundreds of cameras and security personnel who patrol the mall on foot, bike and car. Additionally, on-duty Columbus officers have two specific patrol cars assigned to the mall and the surrounding property.
Just a little more than two weeks ago, Easton was marred by panic when people fled from a movie theater on
Aug. 7 on reports of an active shooter that were later debunked. A man was arrested and charged with inducing panic for entering a theater and screaming obscenities.
Columbus police spokesman Sgt. James Fuqua told The Dispatch at the time: “We don’t want the citizens of this city to feel it is unsafe to go to any shopping mall.”
Prior to that, gunfire last reportedly erupted outside Easton near the Cheesecake Factory around 10 p.m. on March 17, when two men said a gunshot was fired at them. Neither were struck.
That same month, Polaris Fashion Place became the scene of two separate shootings indoors on March 3 and March 15.
The first occurred when two men identified as Anthony Deshawn Truss Jr., 21, and Levon Sommerville, 25, exchanged gunfire after the two got into an argument inside a store in the mall. U.S. Marshals later took both men into custody in April in Georgia cities within 40 miles of each other.
Nine days later, a suspect identified as 20-year-old Arshad Jamir Lawson fired several shots in a first-floor atrium area inside the Polaris mall after an apparent confrontation between two groups of young people, police said. One bullet grazed the arm of a male victim but no one else was injured. Lawson was arrested three days later.
Despite the spate of shootings in recent months, an analysis by The Dispatch of city crime records found that such violent crime rarely occurs at the three major malls in Columbus — Polaris Fashion Place, Easton Town Center and The Mall at Tuttle Crossing.
Anyone with information can call the Columbus Division of Police assault unit at 614-645-4141 or report an anonymous tip to the Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.
Eric Lagatta is a reporter at the Columbus Dispatch covering public safety, breaking news and social justice issues. Reach him at elagatta@dispatch.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ericlagatta