COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said the city is going to be open to another curfew after several people were shot in the Short North Arts District over the weekend.
The shooting happened early Sunday morning on North High Street and left 10 people injured.
Last year, a similar incident took place in the same area. Ten people were injured and a suspect was arrested.
Police fired shots during the 2023 incident, injuring two people. Just a week after that shooting, another fatal shooting occurred in the Short North leaving a man dead.
The city took extra safety measures following those events, asking bars to close at midnight on weekends and adding more officers to patrol the area between the hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.
Those between the ages of 13 and 17 were also not permitted in the area between the hours of midnight and 4:30 a.m.
Columbus City Council provided the Short North Alliance with $500,000 for safety and security upgrades following the increased violence.
While Ginther did not provide any specific mention of increased security efforts this year, he said they are open to another curfew. A closed meeting with the Columbus Division of Police and Short North Alliance is scheduled to take place Tuesday evening.
In an interview with 10TV’s Andrew Kinsey on Tuesday, Assistant Police Chief LaShanna Potts said the Short North will look how it always does this weekend.
She said they would have officers patrolling as usual and reassured community members that the Short North is a safe space.
Some new measures in place this year in the Short North include:
- Mobile food vendors are assigned to specific areas that can be reserved.
- Paid parking in the Short North is extended to midnight.
- Expanded COTA service until 11 p.m.
- Fifteen designated rideshare pickup zones from midnight to 4 a.m. in parking restricted areas.
Ginther said the city has received a record number of tips with recent crimes, but added that the city needs more help from the community.
“We need the community’s help. We need parents to step up -- to impose and enforce curfews. We need them to know where their children are and who they’re hanging out with,” Ginther said. “The police cannot do all this work by themselves.”
When asked if he still had confidence in his police chief, Ginther said “Absolutely.”
“She’s done an incredible job, not only continuing to grow our enforcement efforts, changing the culture within the division of police and engaging with the community like never before.”