Man shot, killed while sitting in parked car
A passenger in the vehicle was also critically wounded
By Jim Woods
The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A man died behind the steering wheel of a car and a passenger in the vehicle was seriously wounded after they were shot while parked at an East Side fast-food restaurant yesterday afternoon.
Columbus police didn't release the name of the dead man late last night because they were still trying to identify him. He was in his early 20s.
The other victim, David Hawkins, 26, was taken to Grant Medical Center in critical condition. After undergoing surgery, his condition stabilized last night. He was expected to recover, said Sgt. Christ Holzhauser, who supervises the second-shift homicide squad. Holzhauser said he didn't have Hawkins' address.
The shooting occurred about 4:15 p.m. in the parking lot of the Wendy's at 4049 E. Livingston Ave. The driver was pronounced dead there by Columbus fire paramedics.
The gunman is believed to have fired multiple shots through the driver's-side window, Holzhauser said. Initial reports were that he and another man fled in a red Chevy Blazer, but Holzhauser said late last night that police have ruled out the Blazer as having any connection to the shooting.
A number of orange cones, used by police to mark shell casings or other evidence, were clustered close behind the driver's side of the car yesterday.
Donald Cosner, who works at Thirsty's Drive Thru, next door to Wendy's, said he heard eight or nine shots in rapid succession.
Cosner said the shots were so loud he thought they were fired inside his business.
"It kind of makes you want to switch jobs," Cosner said. "It's kind of close."
The Wendy's restaurant was closed during the investigation, and homicide detectives questioned the employees and some customers who were there when the shooting occurred.
Luvinea Nolen, who lives in the neighborhood, said she heard that someone in an apartment complex behind the restaurant saw two men walk up to the car and fire. "It's senseless," Nolen said.
Copyright 2013 The Columbus Dispatch
|
All Rights Reserved
