From staff and wire reports
COLUMBUS – A man wanted in connection with a robbery spree that ended in a deadly shootout with Columbus police was arrested Saturday at a Chicago airport as he prepared to flee the country, according to federal authorities.
Aden Abdullahi Jama, 20, of Reynoldsburg (right), was arrested Saturday afternoon at Chicago O’Hare International Airport by U.S. Marshals and Homeland Security agents, U.S Attorney Kenneth Parker said in a release.
He had purchased a ticket for a flight leaving at 12:35 p.m. for Turkey.
Jama, Fazsal Darod, of Columbus, and a third man allegedly stole a black Porsche SUV from Byer Imports car lot on N. Hamilton Road in Columbus on Thursday afternoon and used it in a robbery at approximately 4:00 p.m. at the Fifth Third Bank on Hilliard Rome Road in Hilliard where an armed suspect nade off with thousands of dollars in a black Porsche SUV, Parker said.
A few minutes later, Columbus police officers encountered the stolen vehicle and suspects on I-70 eastbound near W. Mound Street where the suspects exchanged gunfire with at least eight Columbus officers, authorities said.
During the incident, a Columbus officer was struck by gunfire and was transported to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center by their partner, where the wounded officer underwent emergency surgery and was listed in stable condition, police said.
Parker said Saturday the officer was “doing well” and was thankful for the community’s support and prayers. Authorities didn’t immediately release his name but said he has served on the Columbus force for less than five years.
Parker said investigators do not know at this time which of the suspects was responsible for the gunfire that wounded the officer. Officials are looking at the possibility of filing state charges against the defendants as well, he said.
One of the suspects, whose name has not been released, was also shot and died at the scene while Jama and Darod allegedly ran from the scene.
Officers recovered a Glock handgun with an extended magazine and a semiautomatic handgun from the scene.
Darod, 23, was arrested in the early morning hours of Friday outside his home on the Northeast Side by the Marshals’ Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team.
Both men are charged with aiding and abetting a bank robbery and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Aiding and abetting a bank robbery is a federal crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a crime of violence carries a potential penalty of at least five years and up to life in prison, Parker said.
Jama’s extradition from Illinois was being sought, officials said.
It’s unclear whether the defendants have attorneys; listed numbers for them couldn’t be found Saturday.
Aden Jama of Columbus, who said he was Jama’s uncle, expressed shock about the accusations about his nephew and the allegation that he had been trying to leave the country.
“It’s the saddest thing,” he said. “I was looking for him, trying to tell him to turn himself in.”