COLUMBUS, Ohio — Assistant Chief Greg Bodker said the Columbus police officer who was shot after responding to a robbery on Thursday is in stable condition.
The search continues for two of the three suspects in Thursday’s robberies which left one Columbus officer listed in critical, but stable condition and the third suspect dead.
Police said it started with a stolen Porsche at a dealership on the 400 block of North Hamilton Road in Whitehall earlier Thursday. Police said in the process of tracking the Porsche down, they responded to a bank robbery at a Fifth Third Bank on the 2400 block of Hillard-Rome Road. The Porsche was nearby, and police said it was the same suspects robbing the bank.
The police began pursuing the vehicle, which continued eastbound on Interstate 70, where it ended just east of West Mound Street. Shots were fired between a suspect and multiple officers, leaving one suspect dead and the Columbus officer injured during the exchange, according to Columbus Police.
The wounded officer was taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center by their partner, where they underwent emergency surgery.
Police said the two other suspects from the bank robbery are still at large. Police described the suspects as both Black males wearing one wearing a white t-shirt, black pants, and white tennis shoes, the other wearing a red and white striped shirt, black pants, and white tennis shoes.
Police said a cruiser was struck by gunfire and a handgun was recovered from the scene.
The suspects were last seen running southbound from the freeway, where portions of I-70 and I-71 in the area were closed during Thursday’s search. Around 1 a.m. Friday the lanes were all re-opened according to the Ohio Department of Transportation.
Police also said the robbery had been successful.
Detectives with the Columbus Division of Police’s Homicide Bureau are investigating the bank robbery, according to Columbus Police. Bodker also said the Bureau of Criminal Investigation is assisting and the investigation is ongoing.
This article will be updating when more information becomes available.
