Gunman shot by police at Tee Jaye's Country Place expected to survive, face charges

A man who Columbus police say fired at officers early Thursday morning in the parking lot of a South Side restaurant has been upgraded to stable condition and is expected to survive his injuries.

The man's name had not been released as of mid-afternoon Thursday.

The shooting occurred at Tee Jaye's Country Place, 1385 Parsons Ave., after police responded to an alert from the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system of gunfire there around 5:15 a.m., according to Deputy Chief Smith Weir. Officers arrived on the scene and found an armed man in the parking lot of the restaurant, which was believed to be closed at the time, he said.

Smith said there were several tense moments of confrontation with the man, who was repeatedly told to put down his gun. When the man fired additional shots, allegedly at officers, one officer returned fire, Smith said.

The gunman was taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, where he was initially in critical condition but later upgraded to stable condition. No officers were injured.

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Reports from police radio traffic and information provided to officers said the man may have made suicidal threats before firing at the officers. Neither Weir nor Jeff Simpson, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capitol City Lodge #9, were able to confirm that information on Thursday.

Evidence technicians from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, who will handle the investigation into the shooting in accordance with city policy involving Columbus police-involved shootings, were on scene Thursday morning. One placed evidence markers near the restaurant building in an area where several shell casings were seen. Twelve markers were placed in that area, though it was not clear if all 12 markers were for shell casings.

The area where the officer who returned fire was located appeared to be 10 to 12 feet away in the parking lot.

Simpson said it was not initially known if the man was firing his weapon at anything in particular before officers arrived on the scene.

Police would not attempt to use a stun gun on someone who is actively firing a weapon, Simpson said.

"When you have someone with a firearm, we're going to do everything we can to keep the community safe," he said.

Weir said Thursday afternoon that after the gunman is released from the hospital he is likely to face criminal charges, including multiple counts of felonious assault on a police officer.

The names of the officers involved in the incident were not immediately available. The officers who were involved will be placed on administrative leave per Division of Policy pending the BCI investigation.

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First person shot by Columbus police since Donovan Lewis' death

This is the first shooting involving Columbus police in which a person was injured since the death of Donovan Lewis on Aug. 30. Lewis, 20, was shot one time in the abdomen by officer Rickey Anderson while in his apartment on the 3200 block of Sullivant Avenue.

Officers had gone to Lewis' apartment around 2 a.m. in an attempt to arrest him on outstanding warrants for domestic violence, assault and felony improper handling of a firearm. The officers who were on the scene knocked on the apartment door for more than eight minutes before two people inside opened the door.

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A police K-9 was used to search the apartment and someone inside can be heard on body camera audio verbally responding to the dog's presence and shutting the bedroom door, presumably Lewis.

Less than one second after opening the bedroom door, Anderson fired a single shot, striking Lewis in the abdomen.

Lewis had a vape pen in his hand at the time he was shot. No firearm was recovered from the apartment.

Anderson is still on paid administrative leave while Ohio BCI completes its investigation into the shooting.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Police shooting at Columbus Tee Jaye's restaurant: 1 critical