COLUMBUS, Ohio — An investigation earlier this month by 10 Investigates found more than a dozen “no arrest deserts” or “dead zones” across Columbus – areas where killings have repeatedly gone unsolved.
10 Investigates’ special report found a street code the pushes silence over cooperation with police is part of what keeps many of this city’s murders from being solved.
While a non-fatal shooting that happened Tuesday on the southeast side injured a 9-year old girl did not occur in one of the “dead zones,” 10 Investigates found the area is surrounded by other violence – including murders both unsolved and those cleared by arrests, a 10 Investigates’ analysis of its map concluded.
The child’s grandfather called 911 Tuesday to report that his granddaughter had been shot at home on Fleet Road. He later told a dispatcher that there had been other recent incidents near the home. “It's happening too much. What is they shooting at us for,” he said.
On Wednesday, the child’s grandfather told 10TV News that his granddaughter was out of the hospital and recovering.
A review of police records shows there have been at least seven calls for service to the house in the past year.
In September, the girl’s mother called to report a shooting that damaged drywall and a window.
An officer who responded to the scene could not locate any shell casings or projectiles at the time the report was taken.
As part of a recent investigation into violence, 10 Investigates mapped every murder in Columbus dating back to 2017.
Our review found seven killings -- all cleared by arrests -- within a mile of Tuesday's shooting of the 9-year-old girl.
A mile to the west of where she was shot is a cluster of 5 unsolved homicides at apartment complexes on either side of Refugee Road just outside of I-270.