3 killed, 3 others wounded following 'chaotic' shooting in Ohio; suspect at large
A "chaotic" shooting in Ohio over the weekend left three people dead and three others wounded.
The incident happened in Italian Village, a neighborhood north of Columbus. The deceased victims were identified as 18-year-old Da'ondre Bullock, 26-year-old Garcia Dixon Jr., and 27-year-old Malachi Pee, according to The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network.
The three others who were injured were transported to local hospitals, but police expected them to survive their injuries.
USA TODAY reached out to the Columbus Division of Police for additional comment.
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Police responded to a report of a shooting
Columbus police were called to the area of East Fifth Avenue between North High Street and North Fourth Street, between Weinland Park and Italian Village, at roughly 2:45 Saturday morning on reports of a shooting.
Columbus Police Deputy Chief Gregory Bodker said police received calls of automatic gunfire and cars fleeing the scene. When police arrived, they found a "very chaotic scene," he said.
Bodker said the shooting happened outside a business, although it is not clear if the people involved were patrons. No suspects in the shooting had been identified by Saturday afternoon, according to a police release.
Bodker said police are not sure of the cause of the shooting, but there are several witnesses who are cooperating. The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is assisting in the investigation. They used a drone to document the crime scene, which Bodker said was very large.
Residents say they heard gunshots
Craig Wheeler, a 62-year-old bartender who lives in the area of the shooting, said he was awake during the incident. He said he heard one gunshot followed by people screaming. After a pause of five to 10 seconds, there were about nine more shots in quick succession. Wheeler said that was followed by what he described as an automatic weapon firing.
Wheeler said he tries to avoid going out after midnight in his neighborhood.
"Nobody settles anything with fists anymore," he said. "It's always, 'We're going to drag race at 1 at the corner or I'm going to shoot you.'"
Another resident, Daquian Williams, described the harrowing scene during an interview with WBNS.
“It was over 150, 200 people, running for their lives, bullets spraying everywhere. It was chaotic,” he told the outlet, “adding: Bodies on the floor, blood, blood-curdling screams, people trampling over each other and like the chaos was so wild it was uncontrollable."