COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police are investigating eight separate shootings that took place over the weekend, during which a total of five people were killed and others injured.
Of the fatal shootings, three were reported at or near parks on the east side of the city.
Columbus police responded to the first incident on Friday at an area across the street from Driving Park in east Columbus, where a man was later pronounced dead.
The following day, police responded to two more deadly shootings. At the first, reported at Nafzger Park, officers found a man who was taken to a nearby hospital and later died. Not long after, a 20-year-old woman was killed at Saunders Park.
Three more shootings were reported on Sunday, neither of which resulted in someone’s death. Then, on Monday morning, officers responded to two separate shootings in the Hilltop area, during which a man and woman were killed.
The spike in violent crime comes alongside a rise in warm weather throughout central Ohio. Police have warned about a possible increase in crime ahead of the summer months.
"We knew that, as the weather gets warmer, citizens are going to be out," said Assistant Chief LaShanna Potts.
In an effort to be proactive, Potts said the division has officers checking parks every hour. Potts said Columbus residents will continue to see a rise in officers in parks and neighborhoods, adding, "we have to do it strategically and we have to be methodical because we're losing manpower."
The division is set to lose roughly 100 officers in the next few months to a retirement incentive program. While the department is budgeted for 1,937 officers, it is currently down 50.
Last year, Chief Bryant announced a parks patrol after two homicides at Bicentennial Park and at the far east side rec center. Police leaders said due to staffing shortages, there will not be a dedicated program for watching the parks like last year.
Even so, a recent report released from Columbus police shows this year's homicide rate is down compared to this same time last year.
As of April 20, police had reported a total of 31 homicides; down from 64 that same time in 2021. Since the report was released Thursday, the number of homicides reported in the city this year has now risen to 36.
Roughly 91% of this year's homicides have been by shooting, police said. To date, the city's homicide solve rate is 63%, and felonious assault rate is 28.9% -- both statistics up from this time last year. In April of 2021, police had reported 468 felonious assaults; a number that is now down to 342 in 2022.
Anyone with information about any of the shootings is asked to call Columbus police at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.
"Columbus is still a very safe place to work, live and play. We got a criminal element, and we know who they are," said Potts.
You can keep track of crime throughout central Ohio on 10TV’s interactive CrimeTracker 10 Map.
The Columbus Division of Police is holding a briefing to address the violent weekend. You can watch in the player below: