COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of the brutal fatal shooting of two children and a young man, and Columbus police are pleading for the community’s help in solving the crime.
On Dec. 7, 2021, 22-year-old Charles Wade, 9-year-old Demetrius Wall-Neal, and his 6-year-old sister Londynn were all shot and killed while sitting in a car. One year later, police have yet to announce any arrests in the case.
Home security video posted to the Columbus Division of Police Facebook page this week shows two men sneak up on a parked vehicle on the 6600 block of Kodiak Drive around 6 p.m. The men then fired several shots into the car before a car backs up to the scene and the two men jump into it, driving off.
In an additional update from Columbus police Wednesday, Det. Terry Kelley said there has been some progress over the last year, but that there is a lot he cannot say in the case because there is information intertwined with other cases.
Kelley said there have been several tips and theories over the last year, but what police need now is more information about those directly involved in the case.
The footage below features graphic content. NBC4 has displayed the entire video to respect the wishes of the victims’ family, who wanted the footage in its entirety to be available to inform viewers of the callousness of the shooting.
Two vehicles — a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Nissan Altima — were seen watching the neighborhood for several hours before the shooting, and police want to know why.
“There are people out there that have not called in or sent in a Crime Stopper tip, but what I need is somebody that has first-hand knowledge of this because I can go a long way with one person that’s willing to step up to the plate and tell me what they know,” Kelley said.
That night at the scene, Assistant Police Chief LaShanna Potts issued the first of many pleas to the community to help solve the crime.
“There’s nothing I can say to this family that’s going to bring them closure other than the fact that whoever you are, we will find out who you are and we will hunt you down until we get you,” Potts said that night.
WATCH: Assistant Chief LaShanna Potts full news briefing from the scene of the shooting
Londynn and Demetrius were students at Indian Trail Elementary, and Wade was the boyfriend of the children’s mother.
In late December 2021, police said the shooting was a planned attack and they were looking for multiple suspects. In March, police said the shooters waited for Wade and the children to get into the car before approaching it.
“They waited for everybody to get into the car and that’s when they approached the vehicle,” Det. Terry Kelley said then. “It’s one of the most cowardly homicides I’ve dealt with.”
That was the last public update from police on the investigation until Tuesday’s Facebook post.
During the planning of a school supply drive in August honoring Londynn and Demetrius, a family friend pleaded with anyone who knows anything to please help the family heal.
“My message is, absolutely, if you know something, say something,” Arnetta Davis said. “They deserve that much.”
Anyone with information on this case can share that with the Columbus police Homicide Unit at (614) 645-4730, Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at (614) 461-8477, or Kelley at (614) 778-9706 or (614) 554-5002.
