COLUMBUS, OH (WCMH) – Another Columbus parent is mourning after Wednesday’s shooting at the Glenwood Community Center left 24-year-old Atayia Nichols dead and two teens injured.
At the time of the shooting, the rec center pool was packed with families trying to escape the heat. NBC4 obtained surveillance video that showed the moments of the shooting.
Some viewers may find the video below disturbing.
Flowers were left near where the shooting happened, as well as a note that reads “Now these three remain: hope, faith, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
A 15-year-old boy and an 18-year-old girl were injured in the shooting.
Nichols’ mother spoke with NBC4 on the phone Thursday. She said she is distraught, losing her best friend and and the greatest mother she knows.
Columbus mothers like Arieana Jones said they are shaken after hearing the news of a seventh shooting in a city park since April.
“We have been coming to the pool for years,” Jones said. “I grew up at Marion Franklin and I didn’t have to deal with stuff like that, so it’s just crazy. We can’t go anywhere now. Like a pool? Like that’s crazy.”
Another mother, Camille Campbell, said what scares her most is the victims’ ages.
“Most of the people who are dying are my generation, so it’s just so sad to see so many friends having to look at them in the obituary instead of in person,” Campbell said.
The mothers say they are going to continue to bring their kids to play, but they can only pray to never witness this violence again. Jones said they were at Westgate Park when a shooting happened there in May.
“I think 10 minutes later someone was chasing someone in a car and they ran into the gate or something and almost hit one of the kids,” Jones said. “And it was scary because that could’ve been my kids.”
Others say they are constantly on guard when they leave the house and added changes need to be made.
Columbus Police believe there are multiple shooters involved in this incident and ask anyone with information to contact them.
They say they did have an increased presence Thursday at the cooling centers in the aftermath of this shooting.