A 24-year-old man remains in critical condition after being shot on Columbus's East 5th Avenue on Thursday, and police say they've already arrested a suspect in the case. Columbus police patrol officers responded around 12:15 p.m. to the 2700 block of East 5th Avenue on a report of a possible shooting, where they found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound before he was taken to a hospital.
Investigators identified 30-year-old Clifton Deshawn Battle Jr. as the suspect and took him into custody without incident, according to WSYX. Police filed felonious assault charges against Battle, along with a weapons possession charge, the station reports. Under Ohio law, felonious assault is a second-degree felony carrying a potential prison term of two to eight years and fines up to $15,000, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
The secondary charge against Battle, having weapons while under disability, is a third-degree felony under Ohio law that applies to people legally barred from possessing firearms, often due to a prior felony conviction. That charge carries penalties of 9 to 36 months in prison and fines up to $10,000, per the Ohio Revised Code. The specific conviction or legal status underlying that charge against Battle has not been disclosed.
What Happens Next in Court
No timeline for further court proceedings in Battle's case has been announced. Authorities are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact the Columbus police felony assault unit at 614-645-4141, or to reach Central Ohio Crime Stoppers, which accepts anonymous tips and can offer rewards for information leading to an arrest or indictment.
A Corridor With a History of Violence
Thursday's shooting is not the first act of gun violence on that stretch of East 5th Avenue. The 2700 block was the site of a fatal shooting in June 2016 that killed 21-year-old Tommie Earl Brown and injured two others outside a carryout store, according to a homicide case database. And in November 2024, Columbus police responded to a fatal shooting further down the corridor on the 3300 block, where 29-year-old Treh D. East was shot and killed; police in that case also identified and detained a suspect.
The corridor saw another violent incident in May 2024, when a triple shooting occurred at the intersection of East 5th Avenue and Summit Street. Those repeated incidents come even as the city's overall violent crime numbers have trended downward. The city's overall violent crime numbers have trended downward.
Homicides Tick Back Up After Historic Low
Columbus ended 2025 with just over 80 homicides, but the city had reached 50 homicides by late July 2026, slightly surpassing the 46 homicides reported at the same point the year before, per the same WSYX report. That uptick suggests some of the progress made during 2025 may be reversing, even as broader violent crime statistics improve. The victim's specific medical prognosis following Wednesday's shooting has not been released.
The Columbus Division of Police was established in 1816, according to the City of Columbus. No further details about the department's staffing, precinct structure, population served or digital-forensics operations are provided here.
