Columbus is searching for answers after a mass shooting at an AirBnB party on the city's south side on July 4 left a 17-year-old boy dead and five people injured.
No suspects have been identified or charged as of Monday afternoon as police continue to investigate. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said at a press conference he thinks one solution the city needs to look at is more restrictions for large parties or for short term rentals as some parties at these vacation homes turn violent.
Ginther said he's furious after the shooting in the 800 block of Wilson Avenue on the south side and a second shooting in Franklinton the next day left two people dead. There have been 42 homicides in the city this year, which is a drop from 58 at this same time last year.
Ginther said he will work with his administration and Columbus City Council to take action to curtail violence at large parties and short-term rentals. Ginther didn't specify what action he'd like to see.
"I'm going to follow best practices. I'm gonna listen to police, and we're going to do what makes sense. I'm not interested in just passing ordinances and making statements. We want to do something that's going to make a difference," Ginther said.
This isn't the first shooting in recent years at a short-term rental. There was one in 2019 in Merion Village reported by WCMH and another happened in 2023 at a row house short-term rental on Oak Street reported by WSYX.
Ginther said Columbus and other cities are trying to work to figure out a solution to violence that occurs at these vacation rentals.
The Columbus Dispatch reported that Columbus City Council considered tightening restrictions in April 2020 after Columbus police arrived on the scene of a party involving more than 60 people on the city’s south side. Officers looked inside the house and saw several people with rifles and handguns, and someone threw a loaded handgun out of a second-story window.
Columbus City Code states the city can already revoke a short-term rental's license if there are reports of drugs, prostitution, gang activity and violence. The city can also revoke a license if there's a high number of 911 calls or if the property endangers neighborhood safety.
Columbus Division of Police Assistant Chief Nick Konves said police did respond to the scene an hour earlier because of loud music and told the partygoers to lower the music before leaving. Konves said they didn't immediately break up the large party of over 100 people and responded to 19 other similar calls that evening.
Konves said police are meeting with short-term rental company owners to come up with solutions like making information about the rentals more readily available.
"We understand it's a problem. What happened this weekend is nonsense and it should not have happened," Konves said. "And that is why we are taking steps now to figure out what we can do to come up with creative solutions to ensure that this does not continue to happen moving forward."
Columbus Division of Police 1st Assistant Chief Lashanna Potts said while officers are doing their jobs, there are things the city could do better like choosing how to enforce curfew.
Potts also said she thinks Columbus is still a safe city.
"We've had an uptick in violence, but overall, Columbus is extremely safe for a major city. One homicide is one too many, but I want to reiterate that this is a safe community where our community can come, work, live and play," Potts said.
Ginther said he wants the community to step up as well, calling on families to monitor young children and create a curfew. He said families should monitor young people's social media, check their belongings for weapons and make sure the entire family is engaged and on board with keeping them safe.
