COLUMBUS (WCMH) — The teenager wounded by a Columbus Police officer Monday has a lengthy juvenile court record, and the officer who fired the shots has a previous fatal shooting in his work history.
NBC4 is not naming the 16-year-old because he has not yet been charged.
Police say when officers arrived at 2189 Gerbert Rd they heard arguing inside. They went in they saw the suspect with a gun in his hand.
Police identified Officer Jason Fischer as the officer who fired at the teenager, wounding him.
Fischer, a 17 year veteran of the police force, was also involved in a fatal shooting of a suspect in 2009. Following a car chase, Fischer shot the suspect when he appeared to be reaching for a weapon. No weapon was found. After a review, Fisher’s actions were found to be justified.
In the first of two 9-1-1 calls, a male caller says the 16-year-old suspect confronted him. “He just pulled up and he got a gun. Dispatcher: Did you see a gun? Caller: Yes.”
The caller says he ran to his aunt’s house.
The suspect apparently followed him in which led to a second 9-1-1 call from a woman inside the house. “They got guns. They’re arguing. Will you come please? Dispatcher: So people are arguing with guns? Caller: Yes, in my house. He broke in.”
The 16-year-old wounded in the shooting has a juvenile court record going back to 2015 when he was 13 years old and was found to be delinquent on a felony charge of burglary. Since then, custody of the boy has shifted between relatives and Franklin County Children’s Services.
But trouble kept coming. The teenager was charged with reckless assault after accidentally shooting another person in the arm. He was charged with assault after repeatedly punching another person. And earlier this year, after he was found with a handgun in his waistband, he was charged with having weapons under disability.
The teenage suspect was transported to Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Police say he is expected to survive.
The shooting is the 10th officer-involved shooting in Columbus this year. It is being investigated by the Police Critical Incident Response Team. Findings will be sent to the county prosecutor for presentation to a grand jury.