WHITEHALL, Ohio — A 22-year-old man was shot and killed outside of a home in Whitehall early Monday morning, police said.
Officers with the Whitehall Division of Police were called to a house in the 900 block of Colgate Road, located north of East Main Street, around 2:30 a.m. on a report of gunshots being fired. When they arrived, they found a man dead in the backyard with multiple gunshot wounds.
The Franklin County Coroner's Office confirmed Shane Trewartha died in the shooting.
This is the second homicide in Whitehall this year. Police said they do not think this was a random act of violence.
“I heard several gunshots. I went out and looked out my back yard with my flashlight. I called 911,” said neighbor Kevin White.
A woman also called 911 saying her grandson had friends over and one of those friends was hit and killed by the gunfire.
“I just heard shots outside my house and there's a young man. I'm afraid to go back out because of the shooting,” the woman told dispatchers.
Neighbors said they did not see the shooters, but they heard arguing.
“Not leading up, but after shots were fired. Approximately 30 seconds after they were fired when I went out there, I heard some arguing,” White said.
Homicides in Whitehall are rare. The city typically has one or two a year.
- 2017 – 0
- 2018 – 2
- 2019 – 3
- 2020 – 1
- 2021 – 1
- 2022 – 1
- 2023 - 2
Police called in the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to help find evidence at the scene.
“We contacted BCI to process our crime scenes. They are able to come out here and get an accurate depiction of what occurred,” said Whitehall Police Sergeant Jon Earl.
Earl says they are also combing through home security and business surveillance video in the area, which is a part of their fuse camera program.
“People are able to give us access to their cameras so our detectives can log in and view local businesses. People have been able to notify us if they have cameras,” Earl said.
Police announced Tuesday that two suspects were arrested in connection to the shooting. Mario Thomas Wingate, 23, and Cameron Antonio Obey, 22, are charged with aggravated murder. More charges are expected out of this incident, according to police.