A confrontation outside the entrance to Sharon Woods Metro Park escalated into an officer-involved shooting Saturday afternoon, prompting authorities to lock down the entire 761-acre park and evacuate visitors while some vehicles were left trapped behind closed gates. No officers were injured, according to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which has taken over the case at the request of local police.
The shooting occurred in north Columbus and was confirmed by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which reported that no officers were hurt in the incident, as reported by WSYX. The Genoa Township Police Department, which responded to the incident, requested that the state agency investigate further, per the same outlet. Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks reported that the confrontation began outside the Sharon Woods entrance before authorities shut down the entire park due to safety concerns, safely evacuating visitors who were inside while leaving some vehicles trapped behind locked gates, according to 10TV WBNS.
Investigators Comb the Scene as Questions Remain
The state bureau deployed investigations and crime scene units to process the site, the station's report notes. Exactly what led to the initial encounter outside the park entrance, and whether shots were fired by officers, a suspect, or both, remains unclear based on available reporting. The identity of any suspects involved has also not been established in what's currently known about the case.
Sharon Woods Metro Park sits at 6911 Cleveland Avenue in Westerville, spanning 761 acres that include the 11-acre Schrock Lake and paved multipurpose trails, according to Experience Columbus. The park is part of Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks, Ohio's largest metropolitan park district, which manages more than 28,000 acres across 22 natural area parks in seven central Ohio counties. Nested within the park is the 320-acre Edward S. Thomas State Nature Preserve, a protected reserve managed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Why the State, Not Local Police, Is Running the Investigation
Sharon Woods lies in Franklin County near Westerville, while Genoa Township Police operates out of adjacent Delaware County to the north — a jurisdictional split that helps explain why the local department turned the case over to state investigators rather than examining it internally. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation runs a dedicated Force Investigations Unit built specifically to independently examine officer-involved shootings statewide, a workload that averages more than 63 critical incident cases a year, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
Under BCI protocol, state agents process physical evidence and interview witnesses to compile a factual record, which is then handed to the county prosecutor for grand jury or prosecutorial review — the bureau itself does not render legal opinions on officer conduct. That structure means Saturday's shooting will move through Franklin County's legal system once BCI completes its work, though no timeline for that has been reported.
A Department With a History of Cross-County Cooperation
Genoa Township Police, led by Chief James McMillin since December 2023, employs 28 sworn officers and has a track record of working across county lines. The department joined the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, the DEA and Delaware County authorities in a major drug and gambling bust last November, and it led a public investigation near Hoover Reservoir in September 2024 following a post-collision robbery and assault.
Sharon Woods itself has a history of large-scale safety operations, having served as the initial testing site for central Ohio's urban deer sharpshooting program in the early 1990s after overpopulation threatened roughly 250 native plant species — an episode that helped shape the park district's protocols for emergency closures and perimeter control. Beyond Saturday's incident, the park is more typically known for recreational draws like its sledding hills in winter months. As the investigation continues, the open questions about what triggered the confrontation and who was involved remain unresolved.
