CPD IDs Officers Involved In Fatal Confrontation

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An overnight robbery ended in a police-involved shooting and a suspect’s death early Friday, according to authorities.

NBC 4’s Matt Alvarez reported with the FAST FACTS.

CPD officers were returning from a surveillance operation around 2:40 a.m. Friday when they heard a gunshot coming from the BP gas station at the corner of East Broad Street and North James Road.

Officers were driving through the intersection when they heard the gunshot and observed a man running from the parking lot with a gun, according to a CPD release.

"They just happened to be driving southbound on the road. When they approached the intersection, they heard one gunshot,” CPD Sergeant Rich Weiner said.

CPD said the suspect was robbing a man in the gas-station parking lot at gunpoint.

Officers chased the suspect to the rear of a nearby CVS pharmacy parking lot where he was shot, CPD said.

He was transported to Grant Medical Center in critical condition. He died from his injuries a short time later.

A handgun was recovered at the scene, authorities said.

“Once we get done with all of the interviews, talk to the witnesses -- we have multiple witnesses. We’re trying to determine exactly what they saw -- whether they saw the robbery on the lot, whether they saw the shooting with police. So, we have a lot of information that we’ve got to go through,” CPD Sergeant Rich Weiner said.

CPD later identified the suspect as 30-year-old James Anthony Hill Jr. CPD said Hill had prior arrests.

Officers were not injured during the incident.

Weiner said officers were wearing tactical gear during the incident.

“I want to make clear that officers were in tactical gear, which clearly marked them as being police officers. So, there's no way the suspect should have -- it shouldn't have been misconstrued that there were random people engaging. He should have known these were police officers,” Weiner said.

NBC 4 initially reported the suspect fire shots at officers, but CPD said that remained under investigation.

North James Road at East Broad Street remained closed for several hours while police investigated the incident.

There have been six officer-involved shootings, involving CPD, since January 2009.

The officers involved in the incident were Officer David Younker and Officer James Sandford.

Younker is assigned to 10 Precinct B Company and has been with the division for nine years.

Sandford is assigned to the Strategic Response Bureau and has been with the division for 20 years.

As in all police involved shootings, the involved officer(s) will receive mandated psychological support counseling. Officers are also afforded an opportunity to take leave time to assist in recovery from a traumatic experience.

The incident is being investigated by the critical incident response team (made up of specially trained investigators from the homicide squad), and the firearms/police-involved death review board.

The final investigative package will be forwarded to the Columbus Division of Police for review.

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