COLUMBUS – Columbus police say that one of the suspects in a robbery spree that ended in a deadly shootout on a freeway near downtown Thursday afternoon was taken into custody early Friday morning on the Northeast Side while other remains at large.
Police are asking for help identifying and locating the man (right).
CORRECTION: Police have amended the information released earlier to reflect that only one suspect is in custody.
The Columbus Division of Police stated in a tweet that one of the men was arrested in the area of E. Weber and McGuffey Roads by police working with U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents and U.S. Marshals.
Because he has not been formally charged, police did not release his name.
A wild sequence of events started out as a takeover-style armed holdup at a Whitehall car dealership, where police say three men stole a black Porsche SUV and drove it to a Fifth Third Bank branch near Hilliard-Rome Road and Roberts Road on the Far West Side, where they robbed the bank at approximately 4:00 p.m., according to a press release from the Columbus Division of Police.
Columbus officers responding to the armed robbery located the suspect vehicle and began pursuing it.
The pursuit continued eastbound on I-70 where the division release says it “abruptly ended” just east of W. Mound Street and multiple shots were fired between a suspect and eight Columbus officers.
One suspect was shot and pronounced dead at the scene by medics at 4:20 p.m. while two others fled southbound from the vehicle on foot.
A Columbus police officer was also shot during the exchange of gunfire and was transported to Grant Hospital by their partner, where the wounded officer underwent emergency surgery and was listed in stable condition, police said.
A cruiser was struck by gunfire during the incident and a handgun was recovered from the scene of the shooting, police said.
The interstate was shut down for several hours during the initial investigation of the incident.
Columbus Homicide Bureau detectives are investigating the bank robbery and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the officer-involved shooting.