COLUMBUS, Ohio — A grand jury declined to indict two Columbus police officers in the shooting death of a man at a shopping plaza last year, according to the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office.
On Aug. 9, 2023, officers were called to the 4000 block of South High Street on reports of a man with a gun. Shortly after, they received a second call about a man carjacking an individual in a nearby parking lot.
When officers arrived, they found 29-year-old Austin Huntzinger inside the carjacked vehicle.
According to the prosecutor's office, investigators determined that as officers began to exit their vehicle, Huntzinger got out of the carjacked vehicle with a gun in his hand, which he pointed at officers as he tried to flee from the scene.
Officers instructed Huntzinger to drop the weapon, but he fired, hitting one of them in the thigh, the prosecutor's office says. Officers returned fire, hitting Huntzinger.
Medics transported Huntzinger to Grant Medical Center where he died from his injuries. The officer survived his injuries.
The prosecutor's office says firearms testing confirmed that Huntzinger fired his weapon twice. Body-worn camera and cruiser video captured the incident and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigated.
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