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Man shot, killed near Licking Heights West Elementary School during reported robbery attempt; suspect at large

Nicko Matthews-Cooper is charged with murder, according to the sheriff’s office. He remains at large.
Credit: Franklin County Sheriff's Office

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A man was fatally shot in what the sheriff’s office says appears to have been a drug deal turned robbery attempt near Licking Heights West Elementary School early Sunday morning. The suspect in the shooting is still at large.

Deputies with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office were called to the 1400 block of Climbing Fig Drive in Jefferson Township just after 2 a.m. on a report that someone had been shot. When they arrived, they found 21-year-old Kaelan Amerson with multiple gunshot wounds.

He was taken to Mount Carmel East Hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead upon arrival, the sheriff's office said.

Detectives found that Amerson, along with four other people, had been involved in what appeared to be a drug transaction on the road near the school. The sheriff’s office said after the deal, 23-year-old Nicko Matthews-Cooper attempted to rob Amerson and fired shots into the vehicle that Amerson was driving.

Amerson was hit in the upper body and continued driving away from the scene with the other two people. The sheriff’s office said his passengers were also hit by a bullet, but only sustained minor injuries.

Amerson reportedly tried to escape the area but lost control of his vehicle and it veered off the road, coming to a stop in the yard of a home a block away from the school.

Matthews-Cooper is charged with murder, according to the sheriff’s office. He remains at large.

Anyone with information on the incident, including camera footage or surveillance video, is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 614-525-3351.

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