CPD IDs Suspect Who Allegedly Shot At Officers
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Suspect Shoots At Officers
A suspect shoots at officers, barricades himself inside a home near campus and apparently turns his firearm on himself Monday.
NBC 4
UPDATE: Authorities identify a suspect who allegedly shot at officers, barricaded himself inside a home and turned his gun on himself Monday.
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Authorities have identified a suspect who allegedly shot at officers, barricaded himself inside a home and turned his gun on himself Monday.
NBC 4 has been with this story since Monday afternoon and reported with the latest information Tuesday.
The incident began as a possible DUI stop on Interstate 71 at about 3:45 p.m., authorities said.
The driver, who later was identified as 37-year-old Jason Farnsworth, started to pull over but then fled officers, crashing into vehicles along the way, according to reports.
Police said Farnsworth stopped the vehicle in the area of 17th Avenue and Dora Drive.
Officers approached the vehicle. Farnsworth bailed and began running and firing shots from a high-powered rifle, authorities said.
A 28-year-old officer was shot in the face in the area of Dora Drive. CPD later identified the officer as Joshua Wagner.
The suspect ran about two blocks and entered a residence at 1919 North 4th Street, ran to the top floor and started shooting at officers, authorities said.
“This individual entered that residence, began firing from inside. Both north and south. Shooting at officers or people, anybody moving in the area. Very dangerous situation,” CPD Sgt. Rich Weiner said.
SWAT moved in while the suspect continued to fire rounds.
SWAT evacuated officers who were “pinned down” by the suspect’s gunfire.
The suspect’s last shot was fired at about 4:30 p.m.
SWAT officers found Farnsworth dead in the residence at about 6:45 p.m. He committed suicide apparently with his own firearm.
Wagner, who was shot in the cheek, was transported to OSU Medical Center in stable condition. He was treated and released Monday night. Wagner is assigned to 18 Precinct B Company and has been with the division for six years.
Initial reports indicated another officer was shot and injured during the gunfire. CPD Sgt. Rich Weiner confirmed only one officer was injured during the incident.
Officer Wesley Hurley was shot, but the bullet struck his bulletproof vest. Hurley is assigned to 4 Precinct B Company and has been with the division for one year.
He was not injured, but he was transported OSU Medical Center and also was released Monday night.
CPD said other officers involved in the shootings were Bryan Mason, Donald Worthington and Bryan Brumfield. Mason is assigned to 18 Precinct B Company and has been with the division for two years. Worthington is assigned to 11 Precinct B Company and has been with the division for three years. Brumfield is assigned to 5 Precinct B and has been with the division for two years.
Police treated it as a hostage situation and asked everyone avoid the area during the incident.
As a safety precaution, police instructed area residents to stay inside and go to a basement if possible until officers released them.
The area is heavily populated, and some residents were caught in the middle of the incident.
NBC 4 talked two OSU students who said the events were like something they’ve seen on TV.
“We were stuck in the middle of the parking lot, in my buddy’s CRV,” Mike Cass said.
“Then some guys over there told us to get down. They rolled up in the SWAT van, blocking the house. They told us to come out, stay low and to get in the back,” Eric Davis said.
Kyle Weldon lives next door to the house on North 4th Street where the situation ended.
“The guy started shooting out of his front window. He started to shoot back to the officers. The cops were posted on my porch, aiming towards the building,” Weldon said.
Weldon’s house became something of a mini police command post.
He said he was in his basement for about 45 minutes while officers were going through his home. He said police came downstairs and escorted him out of his home.
“I was like, ‘Sounds good. Get out of this hot zone now,’ ” Weldon said.
Police said Farnsworth was a gun collector who might have had mental issues.
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Reader Reactions
I have a large family…you fill in the blanks. I am now in a “helping profession” and am not blind to reality.
But for all their faults, they are good people. I figure we all get “jaded” in our jobs. I cannot imagine how an officer would feel knowing a fellow officer that has been hurt or killed in the line of duty. How the daily violence might change perceptions.
I can remember as a child the officers walking the beat knew everyone by name. And we respected them, even the “drunks” spoke highly of “their” officer.
They really are “our officers”.
Speaking from experience?
I don’t think pay has anything to do with this. The officers need the best equipment, training, and back up possible…no money spared. They need the respect and cooperation of the community.
I know first hand how disrespectful and even hateful some officers can be when discussing the offenders, the stereotyping is disgraceful. But all in all, they are good people trying to make a difference. I cannot imagine anyone thinking this is just a job. I would think every officer has (or had) a love of the community to even consider being an officer.
Yes, pay is important, but safety and respect need to be a priority.
fapfap
did you get rape when you were in prison?
should be closer to #20
Your tax dollars hard at work now if we can just get those nice officers the contract they deserve. After receiving and additional $100 million dollars old mikey and the boys should be able to cough up some more money. After all CPD is #9 in pay just in Franklin County Thanks Mikey.
Regarding comment by OSUStudent10:
In regards to removing all temptations of alcohol from campus and enacting prohibition at the campus level, you must not be old enough to remember campus into the mid 90s when the bars were far more plentiful than now; Ninth to twelfth was nothing more than bars and eateries. CPD ran steel cables down the street to keep people from falling into the street. Thursday through Saturday saw thousands in line for the many bars. While you had the normal, unavoidable issues associated with large quantities of people drinking to stupidity, the real problems did not begin until Campus Partners enacted their own form of campus area prohibition by closing 90% + of the area bars. There was no way to actively or accurately monitor or control drinking activities outside of the legal establishments
Think about it: In a bar environment, one can assume that most patrons are of age, and most challenges (fights, over-consumption, etc…) are handled within the bar prior to escalating into a serious issue. Sure, there are problems with this scenario as well, but it sure beats useless attempts at controlling parties on private property. The city limited how many kegs can be purchased at one time; what good did it do?
Throughout the run of Prohibition, that which was made illegal or unobtainable, became that much more desirable and fostered a whole new brand of illicit activity; organized crime rose out of Prohibition.
Just a quick quote from WikiAnswers.com:
“The passage of the 18th Amendment proved to be a mistake. Instead of reducing crime the ban on alcohol acutally increased crime and created a more ominous form of it—-organized crime. The mob was created and the American gangster was born. Gangsters like Al Capone made a fortune as bootleggers in which they transported and distributed illegal alcoholic beverages much like drug dealers do today. Not only did they supply the local speakeasy with boozes, but they also used excessive “pressure” and force to make sure the their customers remained their customers and customers of other bootleggers became their custormers. This ended badly for many saloon owners who were torn between two competing mobs that did not care for his personal safety.“
Just some food for thought. As of right now, there is no good answer… I certainly do not have them. I have just observed the happenings over the past 23 years. You will always have crime in heavily populated areas due to plenty of opportunity.
The incident with Jason Farnsworth obviously stemmed from deeper issues that most likely had nothing to do with the area he lived in. He was involved in activities that he felt were worth losing his life over. The Columbus Police seem to have hadled to the best of their ability while literally under fire.
Regardless, your comments did not seem to have much to do with the story.
Kimmy2002, it’s a valid point to the story, that’s why. The alleged shooter had a history of mental instability and a record reflecting the same. Were he not mentally ill this probably never would have happened. Next you’ll be asking that suspects not be identified by their race.
And before you accuse me of insensitivity, my sister is bipolar. I have dealt with “mental illness” firsthand for 37 years.
Gee, OSU student, where the heck are you from? Are you from Columbus or some other area of Ohio? If you’re that concerned about the areas of the city, why did you not consider the location of the apartment before you rented it?
I’m not saying that 4th St. is the safest street and people should just frolic and play there at 2AM, but generally speaking, it’s pretty safe, ESPECIALLY given the fact that it’s in the heart of the city. Prohibition? What a closed-minded idea. If you’re too young to drink, then you’re too young to drink, but it’s silly to think that the only people frequenting any bars in that area are underaged college students.
My advice to you, if you’re so worried, would be to get a decent car and move to the suburbs, although that won’t necessarily help you out there, either, considering nowhere is “safe” from idiots.
For the police to say that the individual had mental issues is unnecessary. Franklin county has the highest rates of mental illness in the state and more and more cut backs are found in mental health treatment every year. It’s also unfair to guess whether or not he did or did not have a serious mental illness. Clearly something was wrong with the individual, but there are many people that live healthy, happy, productive, and purposeful lives that have mental illness. To make such a blanket statement about the suspect furthers the stigma attatched to anyone and everyone with mental illness.
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