Columbus police officers patrolling near Gibbard Avenue and North Washington Avenue heard gunshots around 10:40 p.m. Monday, and what they found afterward has triggered a state-level review that's becoming increasingly familiar in central Ohio this month. Two victims were located at the scene, one taken to the hospital in stable condition and the other in serious condition. An officer also discharged a weapon during the incident, though it remains unclear whether that officer fired at either victim, at an unseen suspect, or in self-defense after the initial gunfire.
The timeline of officers hearing shots while driving through the area, then discovering the two injured people, comes from dispatch reporting cited by WBNS-TV. According to police, no suspects were confirmed in custody as of late Monday night, and investigators said they had no further information to release. Officers indicated the story would be updated as more details become available, per WSYX, which first reported the scene remained active well into the night.
Union Confirms Officer Fired a Weapon
Brian Steel, president of Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9, confirmed that an officer discharged a weapon during the encounter. Steel has led the lodge since April 2024, and the organization represents roughly 4,700 law enforcement officers across 28 central Ohio agencies, making it the fourth-largest FOP lodge in the nation, according to background reported by WOSU Public Media. Beyond confirming that a weapon was fired, Steel's statement did not address who was struck or why the officer fired.
Under an executive order issued in 2020 by Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and later codified by city council, any shooting involving a Columbus police officer who discharges a firearm must be referred to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation for an independent probe, the station's report notes. Police officials have not officially confirmed whether BCI has formally taken over the Gibbard Avenue investigation. The Ohio Attorney General's Office says BCI's Force Investigations Unit handles independent criminal inquiries into officer-involved critical incidents statewide, a process that takes precedence over local internal affairs review and operates separately from any departmental disciplinary proceeding.
A Street With a Violent History
The 700 block of Gibbard Avenue, near North Washington Avenue, was previously the site of a fatal exchange of gunfire in May 2022 that led to a homicide charge, per records reviewed by the same outlet. That earlier case also involved multiple victims on the same residential street. Gibbard Avenue sits in Columbus's Milo-Grogan neighborhood, an area near Italian Village and the Short North that has been the focus of both targeted public safety efforts and ongoing residential infill development, according to New City Homes.
Milo-Grogan was also part of an 18-month city pilot program, alongside South Linden, that achieved a 75% solve rate for non-fatal shootings compared with the citywide baseline of 46%, WOSU Public Media reported in December. City officials designed that initiative to target non-fatal gun violence specifically, aiming to break cycles of retaliation before they escalate into homicides.
Homicides Climbing After a Historic Low
The Gibbard Avenue shooting lands amid a citywide uptick in violence following a historically quiet 2025. Columbus recorded 81 homicides last year, its lowest annual total in 16 years and the first time in more than a decade the city stayed under triple digits, according to Axios. But by late July, Columbus police had already logged 50 homicides for 2026, outpacing the 46 recorded at the same point last year, according to WSYX reporting.
Monday's incident also joins a cluster of high-profile police engagements across central Ohio this month. Just two days earlier, an officer-involved shooting outside Sharon Woods Metro Park triggered a full park lockdown and a separate state investigation, as Hoodline previously reported. Earlier this month, an East Side standoff left a Columbus officer grazed by a bullet, and in July, another officer was struck by gunfire during a domestic call that turned chaotic.
Police have not released the identities of the two victims found on Gibbard Avenue, nor have they clarified whether any suspects fled before officers arrived. Investigators say the case remains open, and no further details were available as of Monday night.
