A 19-year-old has been charged with murder in connection with a deadly shooting in Columbus’ South Linden neighborhood, but police say he remains at large. The victim was killed last Thursday after an altercation near Hamilton Avenue and East Hudson Street, according to charging documents.
Police Say An Altercation Preceded The Shooting
WSYX reports that Danyo Sellers is accused of shooting and killing Maliek Venson after the two crossed paths shortly before 3:30 p.m. The station said Sellers has been charged with murder, while investigators continue looking for him.
The Columbus Division of Police’s official homicide-report list identifies Venson’s case as number 260540666 and places it in the 2300 block of Hamilton Avenue. The department has not announced that Sellers has been taken into custody, and the investigation remains active.
The arrest announcement marks a significant turn in a case that initially left detectives seeking witnesses and video from the surrounding blocks. Hoodline’s initial shooting report described officers responding to a deadly South Linden gunfire alert before police had publicly identified the victim or a suspect.
Sellers Was Recently Acquitted In A Separate Ohio Case
Sellers was also prosecuted in Mahoning County over the 2023 shooting death of 15-year-old Amya Monserrat in Youngstown. The Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office said a jury acquitted Sellers on murder charges in that separate case after a co-defendant refused to testify against him.
That earlier verdict does not resolve the Columbus case, where Sellers is now accused in a different killing. A criminal charge is an allegation, and the new case will have to proceed through the court system if Sellers is arrested.
Police Ask For Help Finding Sellers
Anyone with information about Sellers’ whereabouts is asked to contact Columbus police, according to WSYX. Investigators have not released additional details about a possible motive or said when Sellers might appear in court.
