ǿ޴ý

© 2025 ǿ޴ý
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Columbus Police Identify Officers Who Fatally Shot 15-Year-Old Robbery Suspect

Raymond Wambsgans
/
Flickr

Columbus Police have released the names of two officers involved in the of a 15-year-old boy during an attempted armed robbery last Thursday.

On January 30, officers Benjamin Hetzer and Thomas Pezzott II responded to multiple 911 calls about an armed robbery at a CVS on East Broad Street around 6 p.m.

Police say that after entering the building, the officers confronted Abdirahman Salad while he was holding a gun inside the store’s pharmacy.

“Multiple officers did fire their weapon, striking the suspect. The suspect was transported to Grant Medical Center, where he later died as a result of his injuries,” Columbus Police Sergeant James Fuqua said at the scene.

Neither officer was hurt. The shooting remains under investigation.

The incident was Columbus’ second deadly officer-involved shooting of an armed robbery suspect within one week. On January 25, officer Jeffrey Miller fatally shot 34-year-old Joshua James Brown as he exited a Bob Evans on Olentangy River Road.

Clare Roth was former All Things Considered Host for 89.7 NPR News. She joined ǿ޴ý in February of 2017. After attending the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, she returned to her native Iowa as a producer for Iowa Public Radio.
Gabe Rosenberg joined ǿ޴ý in October 2016. As digital news editor, Gabe reports breaking news and edits all content for the ǿ޴ý website, as well as manages the station's social media accounts.
Related Content