COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Two Mifflin Township police officers were shot during a traffic stop Wednesday evening, and one who was in critical condition was just upgraded to stable after midnight.
ABC 6 confirmed the shooting happened at about 6:50 p.m. in the area of Mecca Road and Perdue Avenue.
Just after 10:30 p.m., Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin told media gathered at the shooting scene that one person was taken into custody and one remains at large. Baldwin said the person who was in custody was the driver of the car that the officers pulled over, adding that he was cooperative and not involved in the shooting. He has been released.
Baldwin then said that several minutes into the traffic stop, the passenger took off, and at one point turned and fired a gun and struck the two officers. The shooter then ran off on foot.
“We have video of the shooting and you can clearly see the passenger gets out and … fled from the scene after shooting both officers,” Baldwin said.
The sheriff added that the suspect is a black man, approximately 6 feet tall and about 30 years old, and was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and camo pants.
ABC 6’s Isabelle Hanson arrived at the location of the shooting at about 7:15 p.m. and reported a very active scene with approximately two dozen police cruisers and numerous onlookers. She also said an ambulance and a fire truck were leaving the scene just as she was arriving, all while a police helicopter whirred above the scene.
ABC 6 also has a crew at Grant Medical Center, another scene active with officers from nearby departments showing their support.
“That officer is right now on an (operating table), literally with his chest cracked,” Steel told media at about 10 p.m. outside Grant. “He’s fighting for his life.”
Wednesday’s shooting happened about 48 hours after a Morrow County deputy was shot dead by a suspect while responding to a domestic-violence call.
Also, a Columbus police cruiser responding to the report about the Mifflin officers crashed on Cleveland Avenue. Both officers were treated and released from a local hospital.
