A 24-year-old man is dead after a shooting Saturday evening in Columbus’ Benning Hills neighborhood, the second fatal shooting to strike the same south Columbus community in less than six weeks. DeMarcus Grimes was shot around 7:15 p.m. in the 2100 block of Shelby Street, just south of Monaco Drive, and later died at the hospital.
According to CNAW2News, Grimes was transported to Piedmont Columbus Regional Medical Center after the shooting and died in the emergency room. Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan later identified the victim as Grimes and confirmed he had been shot multiple times before being pronounced dead at the hospital, according to Now Habersham.
Reporters arriving at the scene found police cordoning off portions of Shelby Street with crime scene tape after residents reported hearing gunfire shortly before officers arrived. CNAW2News crews observed investigators examining several nearby homes and collecting evidence as the Columbus Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit and Crime Scene Investigations Division worked the scene into the evening.
No Suspect or Motive Identified
As of the outlet’s report, police had not released information about a possible suspect or a motive in the shooting. Investigators were still working to determine what led to the gunfire, and the case remains active and ongoing. Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to call 911.
The Shelby Street shooting came less than six weeks after another deadly incident in the same Benning Hills neighborhood. On July 11, 23-year-old JaQuaivious Jordan was killed and two others were injured in a shooting on Little Drive, according to WRBL. The back-to-back killings in the same residential area near Fort Moore have heightened safety concerns among neighbors even as citywide numbers point in a different direction.
Citywide Crime Trends Tell a Mixed Story
Columbus Police Department figures show 10 homicides citywide through mid-August, down from 17 recorded over the same stretch in 2025 and 27 total homicides for all of last year, per the department’s weekly compliance reporting. Department intelligence data compiled through mid-July also showed that overall Part 1 major crimes in Columbus dropped roughly 33 percent compared to the same period in 2025, marking the lowest recorded crime total in the city in a decade.
Even against that backdrop, firearm violence has flared in pockets across the city. Media tracking cited by CNAW2News documented at least 24 reported shooting incidents across Columbus between May 1 and mid-July, resulting in eight deaths and 21 civilian injuries.
A Day Earlier, a Different Case Reached Its Conclusion
One day before the Shelby Street shooting, Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit prosecutors secured a guilty plea and a life sentence for malice murder in a separate, unrelated 2023 Columbus fatal shooting, according to a report shared by WTVM reporter Amaya Graham. District Attorney Don Kelly commended the Columbus Police Department’s Major Crimes Division for solving that case. Under Georgia Code § 16-5-1, a murder conviction in the state carries penalties of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole, life without parole, or the death penalty.
The Violent Crimes Unit that responded to the Shelby Street shooting operates under the Columbus Police Department’s Investigative Services division and leads all felony shooting and homicide investigations across Muscogee County, a structure Hoodline detailed in a report on a separate shooting at a Columbus motel earlier this month. Muscogee County agencies also frequently join regional, multi-agency task forces aimed at violent offenders and illegal firearms moving between Georgia and neighboring Alabama, given the city’s location on the Chattahoochee River across from Phenix City.
No further details on Grimes’ shooting had been released as investigators continued gathering evidence. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.
