Columbus has tied its record for homicides in a single year after an overnight shooting became the 139th killing of 2017.
Police say officers responded just after midnight to reports of a shooting on Olmstead Avenue.
The killing means Columbus now has as many homicides as 1991, the city’s deadliest year on record.
Police say officers found Aaron Leapheart, 37, lying in an apartment courtyard suffering from gunshot wounds. Police say it appears Leapheart was shot through the door of his apartment and collapsed while trying to flee.
The record-tying shooting comes in the wake of Police Chief Kim Jacobs calling for both peace and action to address the increase in slayings.
Jacobs attributes the increase to more illegal guns on the street, the impact of the opioid epidemic, more shots being fired during crimes and people turning to guns to solve arguments instead of less lethal means.
