A robbery at a check-cashing business in North Columbus turned violent Friday when a gun discharged during the holdup, striking an employee in the head and wounding one of the two suspects in the hand. Columbus police are now searching for both suspects, who fled with an undetermined amount of cash after the attack.
The robbery happened at a check-cashing business in the 2000 block of East Dublin-Granville Road, according to Columbus police, as reported by WSYX. Investigators said two suspects entered the business and assaulted two employees, striking them with handguns before one of the firearms went off.
Gun Discharges Amid the Struggle
The firearm discharge inside the business struck one of the victims in the head, according to Columbus police. The same discharge also wounded one of the two suspects in the hand, police said. The seed report notes that the robbery left an employee with a gunshot wound to the head, though no information on the victim's current condition has been released.
After the struggle, the suspects stole an unknown amount of cash from the business safe before leaving the scene, per the same account. Investigators have not disclosed suspect descriptions, names, or whether either man has since been identified.
A Familiar Stretch of Road for Armed Robberies
East Dublin-Granville Road has seen other violent robbery cases in recent months. In March, police released surveillance photos of two suspects tied to an aggravated robbery at a gas station in the 800 block of the same road, after the pair approached a man exiting his vehicle and demanded his car keys, according to a separate report. Those suspects were described by police as two white men around 20 to 25 years old.
Further down East Dublin-Granville Road, in the 2500 block, officers previously searched for a man who entered a bank around 11:15 a.m. on a Saturday and handed a teller a note implying he had a gun, as detailed in a report on the bank robbery investigation. That suspect got away with cash, officers said at the time.
Police Ask Public for Tips
No arrests have been announced in connection with Friday's robbery, and investigators have not said whether either suspect remains at large beyond the ongoing search described by police. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Columbus Police Robbery Unit at 614-645-4665 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477), the tip line that allows for anonymous reporting.
