Police kill Amazon facility gunman
One officer shot in his bulletproof vest
West Jefferson police have identified a man killed by police Sunday after he fired a gun just inside the entrance of an Amazon warehouse facility in the Madison County city, leading to an evacuation and emergency response before he fled.
Ali Hamsa Yusuf, 22, was fatally shot by law enforcement after the man shot a Columbus police officer during a confrontation at Georgesville and Clime North roads on Columbus’ West Side, West Jefferson police and the Franklin County Coroner’s Office confirmed.
The bullet that hit the unidentified Columbus police officer struck him in his bulletproof vest and he was not seriously injured, police union leaders said. He was transported in stable condition to Ohiohealth Grant Medical Center, Downtown.
Yusuf was transported to nearby Doctors West Hospital emergency department, where he was pronounced dead at 6:57 p.m., the coroner’s office said.
The Madison County Sheriff’s office said in a post on its Facebook page that deputies got calls about an active shooter at the warehouse located west of West Jefferson. The sheriff’s office and West Jefferson police responded and are investigating.
No injuries were reported at the Amazon facility.
Amazon said Monday that the suspect shot was not an Amazon employee, but a contracted employee assigned to
the distribution center by a third-party partner.
“We’re thankful that no one at our facility was injured during this incident and for the work of our team on the ground and first responders,” Amazon spokesman Steve Kelly said in an email. “As this is an active investigation, we’re cooperating with the West Jefferson Police Department and will defer further comment to them at this time.”
West Jefferson police said one shot caused damage to a building at the warehouse at about 4:45 p.m.
Brian Steel, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, told The Dispatch that officers from Madison County in an unmarked vehicle tracked Yusef ’s car as he fled to Columbus and radioed for assistance. Multiple agencies in the area responded.
Yusef fired at officers when they tried to stop the vehicle around 6:15 p.m. at Georgesville and Clime North roads, just east of the I-270 outerbelt. Officers returned fire, Steel said.
Steel said the vest likely saved the officer’s life. He was expected to be released from the hospital within a few hours.
It was the second fatal shooting involving Columbus police in less than 24 hours.
On Saturday evening, Columbus police fatally shot a man who police said opened fire at them with a rifle while officers were responding to a domestic dispute at an East Side home. Officers later found a woman who died after appearing to have been shot at the home by the male before officers arrived
In addition to those shootings, a police officer in Euclid, a suburb near Cleveland, was fatally shot Saturday night.
Deshawn Anthony Vaughn, 24, who was sought by police as a suspect in the fatal shooting Saturday night of Euclid police officer Jacob Derbin on the 300 block of East 211th St. Vaughn died Sunday evening during a standoff with SWAT units at an apartment building in Shaker Heights.
Derbin, who was in his first year as a police officer, was killed when he responded just before 10 p.m. Saturday for a disturbance, according to News Channel 5 Cleveland. Police described the shooting as an “ambush.”
“You always have to be aware but when it happens like this and with what happened in Euclid, you’re extra aware,” Steel said. “It’s definitely in the backs of the minds of officers.”
Both of the Columbus police shootings are being investigated by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, in accordance with department policy. After the investigations are completed, they will be reviewed by the Franklin County Prosecutor’s office and presented to a grand jury, which is that office’s policy for all fatal shootings involving police.
Columbus police homicide detectives are handling the investigation of the woman who was fatally shot in the domestic dispute. The identities of those two have not been released by authorities.