COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Division of Police say they are now searching for two shooters after Tuesday morning’s rental property shooting in the 900 block of Bellows in Franklinton that sent five teenagers in the hospital.
The Department of Public Safety said the address had a short-term rental license with the city but it expired in November 2021.
An investigation will be conducted to determine if, in fact, this property was operating as a short-term rental without a license. The results of that investigation will be forwarded to the City Attorney’s Office for consideration of prosecution.
Still, the rental property shootings have neighbors concerned for the growing community.
Kristina Buic said she saw a lot of police vehicles and a girl that had been shot being dragged out.
"I saw and a bunch of people standing outside and commotion you know everyone freaking out,” she said.
Buic says she wants the best for her neighborhood.
“We love living here, it is fun, but it is hard when we hear certain things like that that make it a little harder to live here sometimes,” she said.
Buic says they are used to hearing gunfire, but it’s different when it’s this close to home, outside your door. She adds she would prefer a long-term buyer to come in versus the short-term rentals.
"It was really scary, like sometimes you'll hear them going off and you'll just try to think, try to disassociate yourself from it,” she said.
Another neighbor, Joe McKnight, said he has mixed feelings about the rental properties and how much good they actually do for the community. He adds rental properties like this should be illegal because they make housing unaffordable for normal people.
Councilmember Emmanuel Remy says city council will not tolerate these dangerous environments and will crack down on any properties that aren’t running safely and following short-term rental rules.
“We passed legislation that was pretty clear about what the expectations are for the short term rentals, they need to be licensed. They need to, you know, they're not not gathering places for parties, etc. And we've now seen a couple of bad actors. And we will get to the bottom of it, we will hold the platforms accountable for what they're supposed to do.,” Remy shares.
We reached out to The City Attorney’s Office who sent 10TV the following statement:
“The City Attorney’s Office is committed to reducing violent crime in all our neighborhoods, including short-term rental properties. We view these properties like any other—if they have a history of violence and criminal activity, we will go after them. The City has taken action against a number of properties for short term rental code violations and continues to look at other ways we can hold owners accountable and protect the safety of visitors, neighbors and the public.”