COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Division of Police released dash camera video showing a shootout between officers and a security guard accused of trying to kill his supervisor at an Amazon facility in West Jefferson on Sunday.
Officers with the West Jefferson Police Department were called to the Amazon CMH5 Fulfillment Center on state Route 29 for multiple reports of an active shooter.
West Jefferson Police Chief Brandon Smith said arriving officers spoke with a security guard who was one of the people who called 911. The guard said he was "just possibly almost executed" by another guard who he was training for about two weeks. The suspect was later identified as Hamsa Yusuf Ali.
The guard said he heard shots fired from behind him. According to Smith, surveillance video shows the suspect walking up to the officer and pointed the gun at the back of his head. Smith said the suspect's gun jammed, but he was able to get at least one shot off, which missed the guard. The guard ran away and Ali left the facility.
“He's probably out of the building now. He was my trainee. He shot at me twice but missed. He almost executed me. He's leaving the parking lot as we speak in his car,” the guard said.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said the Madison County Sheriff's Office requested their help. The sheriff's office indicated that its detectives were traveling behind the suspect on Hall Road in southwest Columbus. At 6:08 p.m., the officers said the suspect's vehicle was a white Toyota. The Toyota then turned northbound onto Georgesville Road.
At 6:13 p.m., Columbus officers advised they were behind the Toyota on Georgesville Road. Moments later, Bryant said an "officer in trouble call" was aired and that an officer was shot.
Dashcam video shows Ali approaching a stop light at Georgesville and Clime roads with multiple police vehicles surrounding him.
The video shows Ali getting out of the vehicle and immediately opening fire toward officers. The video shows Ali running away while still appearing to fire his weapon. Officers returned fire and Ali was struck. Ali was taken to Doctors Hospital and was pronounced dead just before 7 p.m. An officer was struck, but his bulletproof vest stopped the bullet and he survived.
An Amazon employee, who didn’t wish to speak on camera or use his or her name, raised safety concerns with 10TV. The employee said several employees question the safety inside and outside the facility now.
Amazon responded to those concerns Monday.
“Based on guidance from law enforcement and safety and security experts, we take a comprehensive approach to workplace violence prevention with a variety of security controls in place,” read a statement from Amazon.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has been requested to investigate the shooting.