COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Police have released the name of the victim along with what led up to a fatal shooting in north Columbus Wednesday morning.
According to Franklin County Municipal Court Documents a man was alerted by a friend of a handgun that was located in a bathroom of the Beechcroft Newstand, located on the 1900 block of East Dublin Granville Road. The man, 25-year-old Lok Nath Acharya, entered the store and removed the gun and took it to a truck, which was driven by Maden Thapa.
The court document said Acharya began handling the gun while the black Ram pickup truck was in motion when he accidentally fired a shot. The bullet struck Thapa in the torso and the Ram crashed near the intersection of Beechcroft Road and Forest Village Lane at 2:30 a.m.
Thapa, 32, was taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital and listed in critical condition, but he died a short time later at 2:58 a.m. Acharya is being charged with reckless homicide and was issued a $500,000 bond in Thursday’s arraignment hearing.
Thapa’s death was one of three overnight shootings and five total reported on Wednesday, three of which were fatal.