A highway camera shows emergency crews at the scene of a reported shooting on Interstate 270 in the video player above.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A string of shootings in the span of one hour Thursday evening has left two people dead and sent three others to area hospitals.
The first shooting call came in at 6:14 p.m., according to Columbus police dispatchers. Medical crews took two victims to Riverside Methodist Hospital, both in life-threatening condition. Photos showed Columbus police had crime scene tape set up in the area at 7:30 p.m.
In an update, dispatchers confirmed to NBC4 that hospital staff pronounced a female victim dead at 6:49 p.m. The other victim, a man, died at 9:30 p.m.
On Friday, Columbus police described the situation as a murder-suicide, with the man, 23, shooting the woman, 22, in a parked vehicle before he shot himself.
Gahanna police responded to a second shooting on northbound Interstate 270 between Broad Street and Hamilton Road. The report they received at 6:26 p.m. indicated that someone in a car was shooting at another vehicle on the highway.
In a 10 p.m. update, the Gahanna Division of Police said a 25-year-old man had been shot and went to Mount Carmel East in critical condition. A bullet grazed a second male passenger, who medical crews took to a local hospital in stable condition.
The Ohio Department of Transportation’s traffic map previously warned of a crash on the stretch of the highway where the shooting happened, east of John Glenn Columbus International Airport. However, the alert had changed to a six-minute traffic delay due to lanes being restricted for cleanup as of 10 p.m.
The victim in a third shooting called and reported it happened around 7:06 p.m. near the Burlington store at 6055 E. Main St., according to Columbus police dispatchers. Medical crews took the victim in that case to Mount Carmel East in stable condition.
Columbus police have not given any indication that the three shootings were connected, and Gahanna police said the I-270 shooting was an isolated incident. Gahanna police added that they had not made any arrests related to the I-270 shooting, but asked anyone with information to call 614-342-4240. Neither agency had shared any information on possible suspects in the three shootings as of Thursday night.
Earlier in the day, Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers also investigated a shooting near the area where the Ohio State Fair is held.
