COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police arrested and charged a 28-year-old man after an 8-year-old girl was shot during a dispute at Weinland Park Saturday evening.
Officers with the Columbus Division of Police were called to the park on Summit Street just after 6:15 p.m. for a reported shooting.
Arriving officers found the girl lying in the back of the park with a gunshot wound.
She was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital and listed in critical condition. After undergoing surgery, police said the girl's condition improved and she is expected to be OK.
Records from Franklin County Municipal Court say detectives reviewed surveillance video that shows two groups of females were fighting in the park, several of them using Mace and knives.
According to the court records, 28-year-old Torrence Ahart admitted to detectives that he fired a handgun after his sister was cut during the fight.
Ahart told detectives that he felt the only way to make the groups stop fighting was to fire a warning shot.
Records state that Ahart thought he had fired the handgun in the air and was initially unaware that the 8-year-old girl was hit by a bullet. Ahart told police he rendered aid to the girl after he learned she was shot.
Ahart is currently being held in the Franklin County Jail and is charged with felonious assault.
He is scheduled to appear in Franklin County Municipal Court on Monday.